tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35386339199398546892024-03-13T19:15:36.482-06:00The Long CarryCaptain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-65613554269409296232011-02-10T17:19:00.003-07:002011-02-10T17:21:38.307-07:00Jimmertime<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dL9E9nnWAaKFw-kM5yM9cYJJXbI8hbGtfpFpWolhYAW1mpl_frEtO-4Kur0rFuwlnBIafoXEttfmoy5uEqv4k415jj-8Lj3OSBhRtfFIN0WR_ljGQvbg37LIKdx9__z2UAPiTNlE/s1600/Jimmertime.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dL9E9nnWAaKFw-kM5yM9cYJJXbI8hbGtfpFpWolhYAW1mpl_frEtO-4Kur0rFuwlnBIafoXEttfmoy5uEqv4k415jj-8Lj3OSBhRtfFIN0WR_ljGQvbg37LIKdx9__z2UAPiTNlE/s400/Jimmertime.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572220333587608290" border="0" /></a><br />Best Jimmer thread ever: http://dreamcatchermedia.com/jimmeredCaptain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-58139356126312038652010-12-09T16:52:00.003-07:002010-12-09T16:57:24.643-07:00Giga PuddingWhat happens when flan meets Japan? Just a little thing called Giga Pudding. Enjoy!<br /><br /><object width="420" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9sEI1AUFJKw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9sEI1AUFJKw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="340"></embed></object>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-65057148486921799752010-09-16T13:55:00.005-06:002010-09-16T14:10:51.375-06:00"Drastic times require what? DRASTIC MEASURES, YES!"I'll be honest, I've been going back and forth for weeks trying to decide who I'm going to vote for in the County Treasurer election. Granted, I don't live in Stark County, Ohio. But I take this election very seriously and I want to make my vote count. No longer will I be swayed by the silver tongue and easy speech of blowhards like <a href="http://http://www.fancast.com/tv/Saturday-Night-Live/10009/678894205/Update%3A-Sen.-Tim-Calhoun/videos">Tim Calhoun</a>. No, it's time for a change. Won't you join me in rising up to elect Phil Davison as Stark County Treasurer?<br /><br /><object width="420" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMgyi57s-A4?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMgyi57s-A4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="300"></embed></object>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-86362961114767685882010-08-19T17:12:00.002-06:002010-08-19T17:16:16.963-06:00Good Sugar Logic<div align="center">Hard to argue with that logic.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqJ9cFRY8fG7XJadEliT46rkQ0CCZZ4JeWpH1FFKW1oNA5niiZSASJ3xGrTnRYHKWJK4YnMLy4jpWaK8xplb9hGIrVwEXGF6mGdm5qWXrF_6uUzqJrgYRwxvs8xfbfuLdKzG-ftHu/s1600/Sugar+Logic.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 262px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507263490516521170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqJ9cFRY8fG7XJadEliT46rkQ0CCZZ4JeWpH1FFKW1oNA5niiZSASJ3xGrTnRYHKWJK4YnMLy4jpWaK8xplb9hGIrVwEXGF6mGdm5qWXrF_6uUzqJrgYRwxvs8xfbfuLdKzG-ftHu/s400/Sugar+Logic.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-35656394362427007142010-05-18T09:29:00.019-06:002010-05-18T13:14:47.277-06:00Survivor: Family Edition. Who ya got?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JLv9qhuddCkPsIAh5tkfDNa2GVtT4y4zKTwkTIPP4LwwcAbE2hRDB8Mx9LjEZbU31zL5kU4fBOpRGYB1yA_GSI9HYgspDrYvMWxTEpJDdmx3VcrX8BY0LBKgK4LPZIZLRkBrjYoJ/s1600/survivor_logo.png"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 220px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472690010529456834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JLv9qhuddCkPsIAh5tkfDNa2GVtT4y4zKTwkTIPP4LwwcAbE2hRDB8Mx9LjEZbU31zL5kU4fBOpRGYB1yA_GSI9HYgspDrYvMWxTEpJDdmx3VcrX8BY0LBKgK4LPZIZLRkBrjYoJ/s320/survivor_logo.png" /></a><br />Cali and I were driving home from our weekend getaway and, as is my custom, I started to get a little drowsy in the heat of the midday sun. To keep me awake, Cali suggested that we pretend we are going to play a real-life Survivor game in the jungle and we have to pick teams from amongst our family members. The Survivor game would be just like the TV show - a gruelling combination of physical challenges, survival skills, and social-strategic play.<br /><br />We drafted two sets of teams - an EMIG set and an EARL set. After seeing the results, I feel like my teams are clearly superior and would definitely win against her tribe in Survivor. Time to weigh in - what are your thoughts?<br /><br />*Note: Teams are listed below in order of age, NOT in the order they were drafted, except I don't really know the ages of the in-laws so it's my best guess. Also, Cali got the first pick in each draft.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center">SURVIVOR - EMIG<br /></div><u></u><br /><br /><u>Joey's Team</u><br /><br />Dad<br />Mom<br />Joey<br />Aaron<br />Allison<br />Jared<br /><br /><br /><p><br /><u>Cali's Team</u><br /><br />Cali<br />Dave<br />Natalie<br />Emily<br />Austin<br />Lindsay<br /><br /><div align="center">SURVIVOR - EARL</div><br /><br /><u>Joey's Team</u><br /><br /><br />Doug<br />Connie<br /><div align="left">Joey</div><div align="left">Justin</div><div align="left">Kyle</div><div align="left">Sam</div><div align="left">Isaac</div><div align="left">Michael's wife</div><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><p><u>Cali's Team</u></p></div><br />Jason<br />Kaelynn<br />Cali<br />Cort<br />Angelique<br />Ashley<br />Linh<br />Michael<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">My teams would dominate. No brainer, right?</div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-88669888358996091052010-04-17T16:56:00.007-06:002010-04-17T18:08:25.679-06:00Filthy as usual<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuAXxaiZOqBzT1RSO1XdF1PlR-gFaIufMBJ9E9G0HkFhb_2dVHoLoHWVJqbqcKhzDxinSWu3e1bzMB5-5KycOjnXJ9EmZfw9VQYA5ijTzHLZmt4aX9-4GRaE_2cJ8_uibZ0x81Kqg/s1600/lincecum+hair.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461261655201715410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuAXxaiZOqBzT1RSO1XdF1PlR-gFaIufMBJ9E9G0HkFhb_2dVHoLoHWVJqbqcKhzDxinSWu3e1bzMB5-5KycOjnXJ9EmZfw9VQYA5ijTzHLZmt4aX9-4GRaE_2cJ8_uibZ0x81Kqg/s320/lincecum+hair.jpg" /></a><br />Lincecum was filthy against the Dodgers today, just like usual. Last week when Timmy was pitching in some rainy weather, I hit rewind to have a second look at a shot of Timmy's flowing locks blowing in the wind between pitches. Cali howled with laughter and threatened to tell everyone we know. No need - I'm not ashamed of my man crush. It should be a federal holiday every time Tim Lincecum pitches. Bottom line is that big league hitters look silly every time Timmy is on the bump. Can he win a third consecutive Cy Young Award this year? You better believe it.<br /><br />Speaking of silly, here are a couple lighter moments from America's pastime:<br /><br />- On August 22, 2007 the <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270822201">Rangers beat the Orioles 30-3</a>. In one of the better quotes you'll ever hear, Orioles' third baseman Kevin Millar was asked about the record-breaking beatdown and he replied, "I mean, what do you say? Do you say, 'OK, guys, let's hit four grand slams -- and we'll only be losing by 11?'"<br /><br />- On Opening Night of the season this year, the Yankees' Chan Ho Park came into the game and got tattooed by the Red Sox, giving up 3 runs in less than an inning to lose the game for the Yanks. When he was asked afterwards about the poor outing, he had a pretty good explanation.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iR56biaYvnU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iR56biaYvnU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-77991655717069335532010-03-23T15:32:00.006-07:002010-03-23T17:40:18.299-07:00Snippets and Quotes from March Madness 2010Tonight is my fantasy baseball draft so obviously I have very little time for this post. However, here are a few gems from the recently-completed March Madness 2010 trip to Las Vegas:<br /><br />- In keeping with his custom, Dave parked his roll-away bed (the Wynn roll-aways are super comfy) in front of the TV and remained in that bed for an average of 18.5 hours per day throughout the trip.<br /><br />- We enjoyed ridiculous meals at the Country Club and Okada, my two favorite restaurants at the Wynn. We ate at the Country Club on my birthday and I had the rib chop, which is by far the most delicious steak I've ever had. I order it every time.<br /><br />- The NCAA games were incredible this year. The best times of the trip are when a game comes down to the final minute and half of our guys are rooting for one team and half for the other. With all of the overtime games and buzzer-beaters on Thursday and Friday, it was definitely March Madness in our suite.<br /><br />- I held the lead in our bracket pool for most of the weekend and I'm currently sitting pretty in 3rd place (both guys ahead of me have Kansas winning it all. Suckers.) Could this be the year that I finally win the pool?<br /><br />- When Michigan St. hit a three-pointer to beat Maryland, Dave (a notorious Big Ten homer) leapt from his bed, gave a deafening yell of approval, and offered all onlookers an emphatic hip-thrusting move complete with six shooters in both hands.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/geueKxT7v_g&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/geueKxT7v_g&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />- Quote from Shane as we were driving on Center Street only 2 minutes into our trip: "OK, do you guys want me to read you some exercise myths?"<br /><br />- Quote from Shane after breakfast on Sunday morning: "Whew, that was a lot of lobster."<br /><br />- Quote from Shane after a heated debate in the car about the fairness of the Trivia Game categories (keeping in mind that it was Dave's turn to answer next): "THE CATEGORIES ARE FAIR! Ok, the next category is 'Computers'."<br /><br />- Quote from me following Scott's botched answer to a super-easy NBA question: "How would 'the Suns Arena' be the correct answer to ANY question?"<br /><br />So it's another successful March Madness trip in the books. Good times. Good times.Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-24637152984763037482010-03-10T14:48:00.017-07:002010-03-10T20:27:51.605-07:00Oh, is it baseball season already? I hadn't noticed.I like sports. My wife and my DirecTV bill can both attest to that. I'm an avid fan of college and NFL football, college and NBA basketball, and golf. Forget hockey, tennis, NASCAR, and soccer. No time for the marginal sports - I have to allocate my devotion to sports to the big boys. And of all the big boys, there's one that reigns supreme: baseball.<br /><br />Pitchers and catchers reported two weeks ago. Full squads have been in spring training for over a week now. I'm amped up for the new season and I'm about to go bonkers waiting for one of my top (insert reasonable number so as not to get in trouble for prioritizing over other important things, but secretly elevate that number by a lot) favorite days of the year: my fantasy baseball draft.<br /><br />To give you a little background, I play in a very competitive fantasy baseball league. If you include time spent watching baseball games, I'd say I spend about 20-25 hours per week managing my team during the baseball season. It's a 10-team league (5x5 roto) and we play for a substantial prize (which I've never won). There are fair amount of good-natured rivalries and a lot of pride on the line among the league members. For example, in 2006 we had 1060 posts to our league message board. Not all of them were friendly.<br /><br />So with our March 23 draft date looming, I've decided to take a few minutes to share the Top 10 Baseball Thoughts Occupying My Waking Hours:<br /><br />10. Jose Reyes<br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazemFUd65kyP_xaY2vdW40g8nc6-Tr0YJav-baMt-VKUDeZZ_QpmyLBWd78T4WFNxyNTAME7dnFUW9Jm2-GMbPULB07PILRxwlGns0FG-6jwkokKkAK1UWhyN2ugYU_pzZeJDbCzl/s1600-h/Jose+Reyes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447147796550840178" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 209px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazemFUd65kyP_xaY2vdW40g8nc6-Tr0YJav-baMt-VKUDeZZ_QpmyLBWd78T4WFNxyNTAME7dnFUW9Jm2-GMbPULB07PILRxwlGns0FG-6jwkokKkAK1UWhyN2ugYU_pzZeJDbCzl/s320/Jose+Reyes.jpg" border="0" /></a> Is Reyes going to be healthy or not? Knowing the answer to that question is an order of magnitude more important than knowing the same answer with regard to guys like Ben Sheets or Justin Duchscherer, or even Brandon Webb for that matter. If Reyes is healthy, he's going to produce 1st or 2nd round numbers but he's going to be available in the 5th or 6th round of the draft. Plus, he has added value because of position scarcity (SS) and he's among the MLB elite in one of fantasy baseball's most coveted categories, stolen bases. He's a potential draft bonanza but there's absolutely no telling where he'll be picked in my league.<br /><br />I'm not building my plans around Jose Reyes but if he's still sitting there when I'm picking with the 58th pick (my pick in the 5th round), I will definitely take him.<br /><br />9. My strategy for Shortstop<br /><br />I am absolutely in love with a certain shortstop and I'm building a good part of my draft strategy around getting him. This information is highly confidential so obviously I cannot share the player's identity here. Suffice it to say, I will be escalating my pick of this particular player by at least one round to assure that I get him. I also have a very solid backup plan in place in case things go very wrong on draft day.<br /><br />8. Ludwick von Homerthoven</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEo7E0OPRhtxbApITJ_B2rl2LalBE9cFIalD3DWIaGMbcKAqHKPY2-6XlLVR-yMlpEJ-sLtitLr1ELJcV2FRe6YgDI8oemXJ_QQ-cg9y2ufcWvZ6uePjju3TjKhLBvSjfGvtZ9tng/s1600-h/Ryan+Ludwick.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447147166102851714" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEo7E0OPRhtxbApITJ_B2rl2LalBE9cFIalD3DWIaGMbcKAqHKPY2-6XlLVR-yMlpEJ-sLtitLr1ELJcV2FRe6YgDI8oemXJ_QQ-cg9y2ufcWvZ6uePjju3TjKhLBvSjfGvtZ9tng/s320/Ryan+Ludwick.jpg" border="0" /></a> In 2008 Ryan Ludwick hit 37 bombs and had 113 RBI. Last year his totals fell to 22 and 97. As a result, his average draft postion in the mock drafts is 138th. People are picking the likes of Alfonso Soriano, Nate McClouth, Jason Kubel, and Hunter Pence ahead of Luddy. With the addition of Matt Holliday in the Redbirds' lineup to offer up even more RBI opportunities for Ludwick, I'm definitely feeling like his 2010 will look a lot more like his '08 than his '09. I'm buying high on Ludwick this year.</div><br /><div><div><div><div>7. The Giants</div><br /><div>I've always hated the San Francisco Giants. I don't really know why. My favorite player of all time is Willie Mays. The "new" Giants stadium is one of the best parks in America (and home of the best garlic fries I've ever had). They are the arch-rival of the Dodgers, who I detest, so it makes sense that I should like the Giants. And there's a certain #55 that I kind of like (see item 1 below). Therefore, I officially like the Giants. As long as they're not playing the Dbacks.</div><div><br /></div><div>6. The A's<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8dc7QeFlyC0gT6JlyR0tYkJHQYShnZEy8xZv_K1eNpsOR4CS_QryAWasiesNhN2qzNg5uhmF1AX10lZS0RyCAchox-O2R3JOORX_VrXVl6T0o-430r6dytakANk7KXe2oiZmBIS-/s1600-h/Andrew+Bailey.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447180315213442146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 201px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8dc7QeFlyC0gT6JlyR0tYkJHQYShnZEy8xZv_K1eNpsOR4CS_QryAWasiesNhN2qzNg5uhmF1AX10lZS0RyCAchox-O2R3JOORX_VrXVl6T0o-430r6dytakANk7KXe2oiZmBIS-/s320/Andrew+Bailey.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div></div><div>The A's have long been the unofficial minor league team of Major League Baseball. Despite being in a major market, they don't spend any money on their team but they meticulously sift through the ranks of amateur players to identify hidden talent in their drafts. The result is that Oakland regularly produces excellent players who spend 2-3 seasons wearing yellow and green before being traded at the deadline for more draft picks.</div><br /><div>This year the A's have several intriguing players that I'm watching closely. The acquisition of Ben Sheets is very interesting. Someone in our league is going to profit handsomely from Justin Duchscherer's comeback. Brett Anderson and Andrew Bailey seem to be the real deal. And Rajai Davis is likely to make the FBI's Most Wanted list for his theivery. </div><br /><div>I think it is safe to assume that I will have at least one Oakland Athletic on my roster this year, hopefully more.</div><br /><div>5. No More Steriods</div><br /><div>I am starting to believe that Major League Baseball is going to be played on an even playing field again. The last of the juicers appear to be fully deflated. Among the myriad problems that steriods caused for baseball, predicting a player's fantasy value was high on the list. The original "Who's Who" of juicers are long gone (Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Palmiero, Canseco, Bagwell, Clemens, and the list goes on). The last wave of juicers are still hanging around, but their ability to perform superhuman feats is greatly diminished. As a result, I don't know what to do with guys like David Ortiz, Alfonso Soriano, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Jason Giambi, etc. </div><br /><div>What I do know is that the longball has become more scarce as a commodity and the stolen base is no longer on the Endangered Species list. Therefore, I can get bags later in the draft compared to the past several years and I need to make sure I get bombs while they're plentiful. </div><br /><div>I'm so glad the Steriod Era is over.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. New England Boiled Dinner<p></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Vsz8RRhGMImwr6w64KGVnqPN1gykMICHn-2RgDCepX94GWWrwI1ODzWmlkp-LCBFB8-i7_06rtaqDFGAyrCiMXvCzShvfSYKCbKu9_Cb9FUONkbM_CdeQc9Txqh2W_LO57o3cFiH/s1600-h/Curse+Is+Broken.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447161951190306594" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 314px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Vsz8RRhGMImwr6w64KGVnqPN1gykMICHn-2RgDCepX94GWWrwI1ODzWmlkp-LCBFB8-i7_06rtaqDFGAyrCiMXvCzShvfSYKCbKu9_Cb9FUONkbM_CdeQc9Txqh2W_LO57o3cFiH/s320/Curse+Is+Broken.bmp" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div>Last night I watched "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" on the Food Network. One of the restaurants that Guy Fieri visited was Morin's Homestyle Restaurant in Attlesboro, Mass. The fellow that owns the joint had a heavy New England accent and every time he said "Noo Englan Boyled Dinnah" I remembered just how much I love to go to Fenway Park.</div><br /><div>The Curse is broken, but the fun never stops in Red Sox Nation. This year I entered the lottery to buy single-game tickets for certain home games and, to my astonishment, I not only got selected for the lottery but I then got selected out of the lottery pool to purchase tickets for the Sox-Dodgers series in June. I ended up getting 4 lower level seats for the Friday night game on June 18, which just happens to be the "Return of Manny Ramirez to Fenway Park". Math nerds at MIT are in a fierce competition with their rivals at Harvard to calculate just exactly how awesome that game is going to be. And I'm going to be there.</div><br /><div>3. Miggy or The Temp?</div><br /><div>My second round pick is the 13th overall. There's no telling what's going to unfold in the first 12 picks, but my sources are telling me that there's a decent possibility that both Ryan Howard and Miguel Cabrera will still be available when I pick at the 13 spot. If Howard is gone then I'll take Cabrera. But if Howard is there, I'm not sure what I'll do. Last time I checked, 45 homers and 141 RBI's is pretty good. But Miggy hits 45 points higher than Howard and my strategy has always been to build around AVG. And Miggy's 34/103 numbers don't look to shabby when combined with that .324 average. It's a tough call; if I don't get Howard then I'm going to have to find some pop at 1B later in the draft and that's not an easy task if I wait beyond the third round.</div><div></div><div><p>2. The Snakes</div><br /><div>I love the direction the Dbacks are headed. The NL West is improving but the Dbacks are keeping up. They finally have a core group of guys they can reliably build around (Upton, Reynolds, Montero). Chris Young HAS TO BE better than he was last year, doesn't he? And nobody's talking about Conor Jackson but they will be very soon.</div><br /><div>Meanwhile, losing Valverde didn't hurt us a bit. Webby is still a little iffy but he's a sinkerballer, not a power pitcher, so I'm betting that he regains his old form by May. Dan Haren is sick. Edwin Jackson is going to be a nice addition to the staff as a number three. </div><br /><div>The Dbacks have chosen to avoid bringing in expensive free agents for the most part, instead relying on the quality of their youth movement. Therefore, it's imperative that at least a couple of the youngsters work out (apart from Upton, who is obviously going straight to the Hall of Fame). I think Brandon Allen and Gerardo Parra have a good chance of contributing this season. Hopefully they'll develop fast enough to help the Dbacks contend in the West. </div><br /><div>As always, it will come down to pitching. Our middle relief was so bad in '09 that it's still too soon to talk about it. Our 4 and 5 starters (projected to be Kennedy and Buckner, I guess?) will be our biggest vulnerability. It's a shame that Max Sherezer didn't work out. We need someone to emerge as a quality starter, but apart from Kevin Mulvey I don't see any candidates on the projected 25-man roster right now. Still, we should get enough production from the top 3 on the staff to stay in the race in the NL West. It's time for someone to take down the Dodgers.</div><br /><div></div><div>1. Timmy!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOkRHIG0LAkvb-Es3RPgpvvt04yrKVcnLkfYIX1pjg1Q1uf4SaZvE0duBIhzT_7jmzzh9MCGc2rbwD6SD6LzLZAjh4OMlyfrtNvYkUjKHjKyjX8ZxFKJq1F1ZAwUSIidR-iAGmJgO/s1600-h/Lincecum2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447177986190430722" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 261px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOkRHIG0LAkvb-Es3RPgpvvt04yrKVcnLkfYIX1pjg1Q1uf4SaZvE0duBIhzT_7jmzzh9MCGc2rbwD6SD6LzLZAjh4OMlyfrtNvYkUjKHjKyjX8ZxFKJq1F1ZAwUSIidR-iAGmJgO/s320/Lincecum2.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div>Oh, sweet Lincecum. For him, every day is Halloween because he is a straight up witch. After doing about 20 mock drafts, I determined that I need to draft in position 7 or 8 in our draft in order to get Timmy. When we did the double-blind drawing for draft position, I drew the number 8 slot. Sweet! I hope.</div><br /><div>Listen, I don't know if there are any spies from my fantasy league reading this post. If so, you are hereby warned: don't take Timmy with any pick between 1 and 7. If you do, I will punch you in your nose. Repeatedly. Tim Lincecum is property of the Argyle Tarheels, now and forever. Deal with it.</div><br /><div>Just to refresh your memory, Lincecum has pitched two full seasons in the bigs. How many Cy Young Awards has he won? Oh, that would be 2.</div><br /><div>Look at his numbers from last year: 2.48 ERA (sick), 1.05 WHIP (nasty), and 261 K's (filthy) to go with his 15 W's. The Giants should be better than they were last year so it's not out of the question to think that Timmy could top 20 W's while putting up numbers that make Bob Gibson look like Bartolo Colon. Anyone who says you shouldn't draft a pitcher in the first round has never had the pleasure of watching Tim Lincecum take the bump for his team every five days.</div><br /><div>My birthday is coming up. If you're wondering what you can get me, just buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Baseball is back.</div></div></div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-19527505943129119002010-02-25T22:27:00.006-07:002010-02-25T23:30:43.051-07:00Bible CodesOne of my favorite things to do is to channel surf on Saturday mornings. It's the only time that my TV watching is truly casual (all other TV watching consists of watching sports or trying to keep up with a demanding schedule of shows that I've committed to watch). There are few things in life better than spending the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. lying in bed watching random live TV while the kids replicate the chaos and destruction of the Oklahoma land rush on the other side of our bedroom door.<br /><br />While engaged in this pastime, Cali and I have twice come across the History Channel's fantastic program called "Bible Codes: Predicting Armageddon". Drawn in by the tractor-beam-like title of the progam, on both occasions we've given an hour of our Saturday morning to the History Channel in hopes of getting some inside information about the end of the world. Both times, we were not disappointed.<br /><br />Now it should be noted that I don't read Hebrew, I don't have access to an algorithm that searches for code matrices in the Torah, and I have not committed years of my life to growing the most awesome facial hair imaginable, so I'm clearly no authority on Bible Codes. But the chaps on this program can tick all of the boxes referenced above so I tend to take them pretty seriously when it comes to turning the Torah into a hybrid Magic 8 Ball/crossword puzzle.<br /><br />For example, the program shows various word matrices found in the Torah making supposed reference to historic events. Everything from Shakespeare to Napoleon, Edison to Einstein, the Holocaust to 9/11, and the Wright Brothers to the moon landing are mentioned. And once you've seen enough proof to believe that these codes are 2 Legit to Quit, the program cuts away to commercial with a teaser that makes me pull the blankets up to my chin: what if these codes also predict the future?<br /><br />Boom. You just sat through a commercial about the Yard Weasel and the Ab-Lounger because you're watching live TV and you cannot afford to miss what's coming next: the end of the world. One of the Bible Codes dudes mentions that the codes indicate that the beginning of the end has already started. Among other things, he says the codes predict that a massive earthquake will hit California in 2010. In fairness to seismologists everywhere, you don't have to be a Bible Codes guru to correctly predict an earthquake in California (where about 1,000 earthquakes happen annually in southern California alone, according to the first Google search result on the phrase "how many earthquakes happen in California each year"). But if you hear about a "big one" in California this year, you're going to remember that these Bible Codes guys have been keeping it real since 2003. What else do they know?<br /><br />Listen, I hope you're not expecting me to spoil this show for you by giving away the ending. You want to know what happens - then put in the time just like I have. Saturday morning. History Channel. Be there.<br /><br />[Wanna sneak preview? Check out Professor Robert A. Haralick, Roy A. Reinhold, Mordechai Gafni and friends.]<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-1WJ6BQLFA8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-1WJ6BQLFA8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-66168597385185933912010-01-31T20:14:00.007-07:002010-01-31T20:50:57.061-07:00Memories from the funeralIt's been almost two months since Grandpa's funeral. Since then Grandma had a birthday and life is moving on. I know I'm not the only one who thinks about how happy Grandpa must be now that he's not limited by the frailties of his age and condition.<br /><br /><br />I noted a few things during the funeral weekend that I wanted to remember later. Here they are:<br /><ul><li>Seeing mom and dad leave on the night before the funeral to go dress grandpa for burial. It's one of those things that no child ever wants to do, but the time will come for all of us to do it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkrh7mvJJrg7U6c-a1YMnED4xktDY1VhzTG1iYoicayPu65VmsKdADZJWe6yJMKGehSCSMvqvAml9zGkwqLi0tVxA177IU2n0xr8q6zbLaTkWZlSVJYFFOOmoewpyRc4PRKY8CHQw/s1600-h/jack-in-the-box-tacos.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433116210699461090" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkrh7mvJJrg7U6c-a1YMnED4xktDY1VhzTG1iYoicayPu65VmsKdADZJWe6yJMKGehSCSMvqvAml9zGkwqLi0tVxA177IU2n0xr8q6zbLaTkWZlSVJYFFOOmoewpyRc4PRKY8CHQw/s320/jack-in-the-box-tacos.jpg" border="0" /></a></li><br /><li>Holding Grandma's hand during our 3 or 4 minute chat before the funeral started.</li><br /><li>Cannon being at Arby's when it was time for the cousin picture. (Turns out he went to Jack-In-The-Box, not Arby's. He brought me two tacos for 99 cents, so I felt bad for being the one who told the whole group that he'd gone to Arby's. But not bad enough to not eat the tacos.)</li><br /><li>Uncle Clynn's smiling face during Cami's song. </li><br /><li>During Clynn's talk, he remembered how Grandpa would tell him, "Son, let's go one more round" when they were nearing the end of a long day on the farm.</li><br /><li>The smell of fresh mint growing at the grave site. </li></ul><p>It was a funeral, but it was wonderful. </p>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-73849961566299138262009-12-07T22:23:00.002-07:002009-12-07T22:26:46.501-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfM7ZungdDutfdP41eOAF3k3QQ_maIgnjnoRNiQhIa6sHaRZ313RPgiOHdPcwL9xHmyzmkC8xptqXKCpS8Stm-qMZ4rmURPre7zqiFO-iFjUFiHsi2u734j9QrzVn6RcBKyjRrJ7v/s1600-h/john+deere+hat.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 243px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412731875758318626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfM7ZungdDutfdP41eOAF3k3QQ_maIgnjnoRNiQhIa6sHaRZ313RPgiOHdPcwL9xHmyzmkC8xptqXKCpS8Stm-qMZ4rmURPre7zqiFO-iFjUFiHsi2u734j9QrzVn6RcBKyjRrJ7v/s320/john+deere+hat.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I'm looking out the window. Snow is falling slowly, softly, forming a blanket over the earth. Everything is peaceful now.</div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-227234799132730592009-10-16T16:14:00.002-06:002009-10-16T18:39:42.814-06:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORTYRZ1s8zh013F2gBLHCxVN9lftoeGSG9UWy3kpysqA3on4318FUIp4t8isFR4_FZAsnkP-t-yNMeUX9ewGvNY44vEqhlTHPBjbuXhaCAgn1kKZgaWNuGcJPKzmiDAGn9x8EvhMk/s1600-h/KW.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393362118652460322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORTYRZ1s8zh013F2gBLHCxVN9lftoeGSG9UWy3kpysqA3on4318FUIp4t8isFR4_FZAsnkP-t-yNMeUX9ewGvNY44vEqhlTHPBjbuXhaCAgn1kKZgaWNuGcJPKzmiDAGn9x8EvhMk/s200/KW.jpg" /></a><br />"It's complicated. I don't even know how things got this way."<br /><br />- KWCaptain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-54545903396722412492009-09-07T15:22:00.030-06:002009-09-07T17:51:39.731-06:00I was there.I'll admit, there have been times when I've wondered whether it's worth it to make the road trip. The football Cougars' road record against ranked teams hasn't been very good over the last 12 years or so. I've been in the crowd for losses at USC, UCLA, SDSU, Notre Dame, Boston College, Arizona, Cal, and the list goes on. It's depressing to spend time and money to travel to far away stadiums, only to see your team come up short. But I've always known that one of these days they would win the big one, and there's no way I was going to miss it. <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br />Sept. 5, 2009</div><div><br />I've had the date circled on my calendar for months. Just the chance to play #3 Oklahoma gives BYU credibility as a football program. My best hopes were that we would play a competitive game, keep the score reasonably close (a loss by less than 20 points would be fantastic), and showcase our team and our talent on national TV.</div><div><br /></div><div>We flew to Dallas in Jeff's plane - a total coup d'etat compared to the rigors of normal travel to away games. I showed up at the Provo airport at 10:24 a.m. I parked 50 feet from the front door. There was no security, no baggage check, no lines. I walked straight onto the plane and we were in the air at 10:38 a.m. Pretty nice.</div><div><br />Once in Dallas, we drove along the Tom Landry Memorial Highway then turned onto the Nolan Ryan Expressway in Arlington. No joke, those Texans know how to honor their sports heroes. We parked about a mile away from the stadium because the parking was only $30 there (compared to $60 and up as we got closer to the entrance). As luck would have it, we parked right next to Colter's BBQ and it seemed like as good a place as any to grab some Texas lunch. Holy cow, it was awesome.</div><div><br />I would seriously go back to Dallas just to eat at this place. They have an all-you-can-eat option for $16.95 which I would have purchased if I hadn't already eaten two sub sandwiches on the plane. I opted for the half rack of baby back pork ribs, with sides of cheesy bacon potatoes and fried okra. They fry up the okra fresh when you order it - classy. I really wanted to try the pecan pie but I was so stuffed coming out of the joint that I could barely walk. (Also, I could barely walk because of the torn muscle in my left calf. I offered Scott Bodily $6 if he would carry me the 1 mile distance to the stadium, and he counter-offered at $1,000. So I walked.)</div><div><br />Check out my heapin' helpin' of Colter's finest:</div><div></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378847097438664290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPm3WZqZFVpg-1rGJWXyjLK6dY7giMGQJhyzVaNt-jBys1dNdRDxJlTvDmTxmYEC-F3IyrLp-SRN47_zJB-7AOtdANoUgp67ax_ntY1TebBBxbERhhz0YypGCqbVy8v0NYzrKZ9x-r/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+108.JPG" border="0" /></p><div>It was a long, hot walk to the stadium. In case you aren't a meteorologist, let me just say that early September in Dallas is hot. We made it to the stadium and waited to meet up with the rest of our group. While waiting, I noticed this sign (the posterboard, not the Notice of Search):</div><div></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378848124915635298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroRQBM6-f6GtpgZCbR4ZyG74gQdG_scdtw_Isp53BUt8z6yj6fd9Ljk1GxnReT9HWzmBFBIc4ALJeLxQLMUL6DxQnEBrW6xlLgu8ZjaU8Z7NyyAHxVvDwv5Goqri0paRbbxuBiytb/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+109.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>After quite a bit of discussion, we still couldn't come to a consensus on whether this was a pro-BYU sign or an anti-BYU sign. We had compelling arguments on both sides. Somebody certainly put a lot of work into getting their vague message across.</p><p>Inside the stadium, we just kept saying "wow". Jerry Jones (the owner of the Dallas Cowboys) spent $1.5B to build this thing. It is the largest domed structure in the world and contains the two largest HD screens in the world (each one is 60 yards long and the picture is stunning). Even though our seats were only 19 rows from the field, I had to constantly fight the urge to watch the game on the HD screen rather than on the field. It was incredible. Here are a few shots of this beast in action. Compare the size of the images on the screen to the size of the players on the field, or even entire sections of the audience. Incredible.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378849538580251922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXnMlNA_I3ZLN7HezKqq-croxtt0HF0BFl28ZB2lRIhAc8NVWRZcN6fmW8xMPNeTKfgaTDjHf2REDW3sy6WPG1Adm0qNSOe73ZfzXpBE5W3NhUguDYiV3MoxruOKRf0rhLiVCoqfR/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+110.JPG" border="0" /></p></div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378850256367696466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQOqda9VuCBBuQHrLsMHFqSz25-GeQe4psKjvoLmlbnBlDKF_ZHZh0gbvSjk4hlote-9m1lbUE2342vJ5wFNJxYMeZ3tQC6K9I6uagnPqVxBODuYD2r0wUuihIbYyMSEls0M4NlhA2/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+111.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378851967617504786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRB4lljRkqEAxFt7sc9q0pdHNBG7cCuS0fqBaAaIpV_0VZF9oVgPbEMtZ6yNRPkYtO3DciZqd1kvoQ7ZG7dq3GOJBJIm9exFR1yRsyHr4WVqfo-_jIhGgoZIyc00bIrZF4LAbMVO4/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+113.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378850246414336226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfIiHdvs7OJI6hsb7HNjadm6wbb7kiuraaBrlzVU-o4AsaQh049DuToNsk4VCgBUQc7FJrEvTS0SVrBFqQ984myTffaJRzd7T0uGQsP4O8WU_wzf8UQ95wmA2gMEofg8Zc0VUCTg1/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+112.JPG" border="0" /> </div><div><br />Not to belabor the point, but this stadium is amazing. Everything was top quality, from the marble floors to the cushioned leather seats to the Dallas Cowboys embossed paper towels in the bathrooms. (Note: male Texans don't seem to take too kindly to other males taking photographs in the men's room. So if you need to photograph some paper towels, do it quickly and then split).</div><div><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378852910419386018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcEsTcTv2rw7goqllOleIh4KDNoXdupVhWXVcUQtvDpxmdPvc3NKjg8BZBJRFN8fAviknHocNIcx-ZOpjGk7VbUWVIHXGxoQVDP_RwZ9ObnAqJK2QOeiXiMfztTKuQGXkUX2NuuS6/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+114.JPG" border="0" />Oh, so there was this game . . .</div><div><br />We were pretty much in shock right from the start. The Cougars defense kept Oklahoma at bay throughout the first half and when Bradford went down I instantly knew we were going to win. I knew it. In fact, I yelled it loudly to the rest of the guys in our group, which didn't go over too well with the Oklahoma fans sitting right behind us. </div><div><br />BYU didn't move the ball very well in the 3rd quarter and I sensed that we were blowing our chance to overtake the Sooners. But our defense's goal line stand at the start of the 4th quarter was epic - I'll never forget it. Even the usually-stoic Bronco Mendenhall was fist-pumping on the sidelines.</div><div><br />Our 4th quarter scoring drive took more than 8 minutes off of the clock. It included a phenomenal 4th-down conversion from Hall to Pitta that took us all the way inside the 10 yard line. All of this happened down at the end of the field where we were sitting so we had a perfect view. When Hall lobbed the winning TD catch to Jacobsen, all 15,000 Cougar fans went berzerk. I snapped this shot of Max Hall coming off of the field after the play, stopping at the 6 yard line to scream euphorically at the Cougar section of the crowd.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378857501930094210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpHej63Atu8_GE14CvXezXgHofAO3239LYXgK7pXlarE3bmqOApp-Puawp1l_5qm8xfTJ9wAuA2SrqGmN_zxDGAuz3BtTtdO1wIpYcTfGmodDMSBc381uGVHnfB8NzJT4m0pY9tQk/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+117.JPG" border="0" /><br />We had to endure the final 3:03 of the game, staving off Oklahoma's 54-yard field goal attempt that would have won it for them. But the kick fluttered hopelessly wide left and short, which set off a scene of pure madness in the Cougar crowd.</div><div><br />As the game ended and for a good 15 minutes afterwards, we just jumped up and down screaming. Grown men were hugging while they jumped up and down. And by "grown men", I mean me and Jeff Hall. It's our signature move whenever BYU wins a huge game. At one point during the celebration Scott Bodily gave me a full embrace and screamed, "I love you!". Here's a shot of me right after OU missed the field goal attempt. This is just pure jubilation.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378861044819053986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQTfB3KPSAhkzxjpF2P8e48yfNv7l_Kxtpo3Cwu5audcspsO7OPgYIPTp5VMzmz2v08ko8QYLAsmr3CR4AuCYp05USCjDl2Xz9-2B3lVqyQqO62VA-TLJxEo1lReffRM6dZT3T7NS/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+121.JPG" border="0" /></div><div></div><div>Jeff wouldn't stop jumping up and down so this blurry shot was the best I could capture.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378861855486138690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxYciBSTrdvJgQWHhyphenhyphenG_Hp2lCMlO6fcsFsSzXqiBJUaZwu9pADjMkdrSOq2x_gjk6T8H0DuVaDiPPvvaCMbUTQx7DniqKqvnZnWzjR4kv0wWrMc9_HCKit5k7MKV5iQYZjFdtGMMg/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+122.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>We saw Justin and Angelique with Dougie in tow. You know those guys wouldn't miss being there for a game like this. <p></p></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378863837790396658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpfXM2ulp0wYjZbzAp_TNgsA49fjl5h4JYS2Mbv9ZF8KU-mfCEZZlfwiB12WMQi_5w4ALtcpuIeFC5JH_rXgUpRswam2XDukHpuznKP3ScMn0mP_8cMeVmuz2KMw9k2_t9LR_68RI/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+125.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Maybe the best part of this victory story is that it hapened on my dad's 60th birthday. How sweet was it to be with my dad, on his 60th birthday, to witness this unbelievable victory together! We've suffered through a lot of BYU losses over the years. I can tell you, we will never forget the feeling of being there in person, together, as we took down the mighty Oklahoma Sooners. </div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378863121268860354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginJoJAPI_Adr-v4PKPbxX-H6zRelmxBHWvcnFZCyDrdOzJn-t2Tg0STWG4BrFW4p7nqDRtQb-9So8SaawjEQRCTLM5I2stxIGoBvQ-pCpOW9YKl7dOxtLWnflCHn4v0_izt7JPDqt/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+123.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>I snapped a shot of this guy's poster as we were leaving the stadium. I love it. Take that, BCS.</div><div></div><br /><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378865543125206306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwEuBEcUo-PtLnTtF7GbDC7IfpbGXFR4pIUKyISRqOlA0y9ApXtmrFyHuyjwf8W8Uke3TQ9tThoHxSMvY8kPHAks9ORK6IVQMT3YfvXDrs1Xrp6WlGkEuo0Qipj1_CzqnEqwsxvl3/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+126.JPG" border="0" /><br />Before the game we were discussing the possible final score, with everyone giving their best guesses. At one point Jeff Knowles said, "If BYU wins, I will eat 4 Atomic Fireballs at the same time." Well . . . the Cougars sure did win that game. Back on the plane, we put Jeff to the test. He only made it to 3 Atomic Fireballs before succumbing to the heat. He spit them out after about a minute and a half. Come on Knowles! Take one for the team! </div><br /><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378866979740861410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R55fovbgLUFgDAw2I5WgEv4ZwQtJOah6gZkCFSYmJhkHumQfCorAsWMel997wZfFLa9KEzmdREIV7VfiWyZVpVsVt_HfXihyHlfiqWjlmEBN_Z7pEJyLlu3JiwakIo_2NfGL54HQ/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+127.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378867311499148050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbL3kRlCUX0YTFnpvwJdYH-uNW5xvVOxFE7liSlx3BY3uAEQLcuwnPv09Bzh0kDpaHkDsKSSpF2TrLm8EBEhTAMGeT7YRBn8uDLcIMR2OFX_dYrG5DAItHnsOLUS1rAboa-2bX87m/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+128.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div></div><div>We landed at the Provo airport at about 1:15 a.m. As we walked off the plan, a rapturous cheer erupted from the crowd of about 1,000 Cougar fans who had gathered at the airport waiting for the team plane. They started chanting, "We love the trainers! We love the trainers!" What, we don't look like a bunch of BYU linebackers?</div><br /><div></div><div>What a game. What an experience. We may lose the next hundred road games I go to, but BYU fans will never stop talking about the night we went to Texas and beat the Oklahoma Sooners. And I was there.</div><br /><div></div><div>Let's have one more look at that jumbotron:<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378869739425768066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmt3tt6x5nP5zqwZ15u7-5F6lra7DeOlbetckzByx94owIKaGiUAf3cmNCYDS9m6EfJbrVbBKXe441X5khIYRAX7-v_60iZDGkUEkDYBMcloVO_-s4kAA9SLFASH9JppoClCP5w5Q3/s320/Cardinals+Niners+tickets+112.JPG" border="0" /> </div><div></div></div></div></div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-52778329990007550732009-08-17T15:06:00.009-06:002009-08-17T15:29:12.619-06:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1M9qGDB3Tqp-S3UTd9TwlynlZJcAbXw5qPfglWQAhDM9v8yKuuuEgRb5Ao-fM3SiBWPT2wyjkIJQszJQj6VQ6f9gUq9NFrjHLMN1cNghNjTlmVypSwhDGCgpo5VY2crrR5Fzjorv8/s1600-h/SnowyLandscape.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371046529196269362" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1M9qGDB3Tqp-S3UTd9TwlynlZJcAbXw5qPfglWQAhDM9v8yKuuuEgRb5Ao-fM3SiBWPT2wyjkIJQszJQj6VQ6f9gUq9NFrjHLMN1cNghNjTlmVypSwhDGCgpo5VY2crrR5Fzjorv8/s320/SnowyLandscape.png" border="0" /></a><br /><div>And under the boughs unbowed<br /><div>All clothed in the snowy shroud</div><div>She had no heart so hardened</div><div>All under the boughs unbowed</div><br /><div>Each feather, it fell from skin</div><div>'Til thread bare while she grew thin</div><div>How were my eyes so blinded?</div><div>Each feather, it fell from skin</div><br /><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low</div><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low</div><br /><div>A gray sky, a bitter sting</div><div>A rain cloud, a crane on wing</div><div>All out beyond horizon</div><div>A gray sky, a bitter sting</div><br /><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low</div><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low</div><br /><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low</div><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low</div><br /><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low</div><div>And I will hang my head</div><div>Hang my head low, low, low...</div><br /><div><em>-The Decemberists</em></div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-62244780933777651352009-07-17T15:41:00.004-06:002009-07-17T15:45:58.983-06:00Timmy!<div>I probably spend at least an hour a day just thinking about how much I like Tim Lincecum.</div><div></div><br /><div> </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359548262358261506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTI6wTHmEeg2ErNqsxMu4epaSNJBABKJJpqqRG0Dsiw7ILT8uy-z08c84JJbp-B9vR0iiiEy86Aew1MYt9S9noGxZI_SO7WaUOf1uHQwDj-FNKLsIUpfRDTwToXXQ3uI8C4tQodGd/s400/Lincecum.jpg" border="0" />Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-55214556060391447662009-07-04T14:45:00.007-06:002009-07-04T15:28:07.857-06:00Happy Independence DayI love baseball. I love America.<br /><br />This might be the greatest baseball play ever made.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e2fd9ivL1Vg&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e2fd9ivL1Vg&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />Here's the famous photograph taken by James Roarke. I love how you can clearly see the stars and stripes.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmopsoOxdj_iZ8hFTmbwgvWxXReTEdbvCthFa9U5xbuqOe-E0s_Suisxp6lH9ZBIT_j_MnDy_ZtWkcaNovOAn5FJieyja0KqtOYB1RAbnW18eC0rrGTY9Bw_SzEFTx0SClrSlpbH0/s1600-h/monday_flag.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 264px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354718737774103858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmopsoOxdj_iZ8hFTmbwgvWxXReTEdbvCthFa9U5xbuqOe-E0s_Suisxp6lH9ZBIT_j_MnDy_ZtWkcaNovOAn5FJieyja0KqtOYB1RAbnW18eC0rrGTY9Bw_SzEFTx0SClrSlpbH0/s400/monday_flag.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><p>When Monday came up to bat in the next half inning, the crowd gave him a standing ovation and the scoreboard at Dodger Stadium showed this display: </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nTWWubsnPXtraBsSGqId4wrZVLC4I4vLYNm35vmgkoh8VLDtzrm00umBTAzHKd2p0GxjBWhekwf-Xy0dB8e9xoVx1R21_InDuylWsEMX-ZHI-ASbvOQMkuw4mqF2-EqA7oUgVUeV/s1600-h/RickMondayScoreboard.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 283px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354719221631633794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nTWWubsnPXtraBsSGqId4wrZVLC4I4vLYNm35vmgkoh8VLDtzrm00umBTAzHKd2p0GxjBWhekwf-Xy0dB8e9xoVx1R21_InDuylWsEMX-ZHI-ASbvOQMkuw4mqF2-EqA7oUgVUeV/s400/RickMondayScoreboard.jpg" /></a><br />God bless America.Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-20236598737386758492009-06-11T20:23:00.021-06:002009-06-11T21:43:56.735-06:00Do you like Chinese food?I spent 10 days in northern China in late May. It was supposed to be two weeks, but my traveling companion, we'll call him Geoff Knools, said he had had enough of China after the first week so we moved up our departure date. <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div><div>I wanted to make a running blogumentary while I was on the trip but it turns out the government of China now blocks all Blogger/Blogspot domains. So I couldn't post to my own blog and I couldn't read anyone else's that uses Blogger. This must be a fairly new change in China because I successfully blogged during my trip to Shanghai last October. Anyway...</div><br /><div>We spent a few days in Langfang, Tianjin, and Beijing. I pretty much just took pictures of the food because it is so crazy. So no long narratives here - just a bunch of photos for your viewing pleasure.</div><br /><div>I should mention that we were there as part of a diplomatic trade mission so everywhere we went we were greeted by government officials and treated to the highest-quality meals. Almost without fail, the preparations and service were phenomenal, but the food was almost always gross. In China, group meals are taken at a circular table with the food placed in the middle on a circular platform that spins around. At the fancy restaurants, the food platform is mechanized to spin slowly and continuously (meaning that no matter how gross a particular dish was, it was bound to pass in front of your nose about once every 60 seconds).</div><br /><div>The dish below is sea cucumbers. Also known as sea slugs, a fact I learned just a few seconds after putting this in my mouth and then spitting it out. The texture was horrible and the taste wasn't far behind.<br /></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346262547799087762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0C5ilZ2rH5_nUZIU8b0v8R6_Y64TOnRQdIYx_YN5VCJjltPIwjoeF2iwv62f2hjGWbbPdWdBRlp2UGunXQWCQSUCnsivXP3TsAJolYwrtETRzufiXPIvjW5jSRAjqzAz-1TeJ0xR/s320/China+april+09+002.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>It takes real culinary skill to slice pig's ear into thin, delicate pieces. Not surprisingly, most of the pieces remained on the plate throughout the meal. </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346263818478010178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsb2nVmAqpLxPp9paaXb01-QUAOJTVT6eZWHk2SYcpduLgVBwUmeA28z2TdKLKtarJyz-zArReu8cC-Hg8ssgTnzyr_ozwA3XajxF-lvHqw70K7RcDwH4CUCDBq8MVCGly6IUOACx/s320/China+april+09+005.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Notice how beautifully the chef arrayed this lovely plate of giant sea clam (served cold, of course).</div><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346264211349641378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqODfKvtqGB8KbDuIcNPJU0J4yGjsYVrkFWj97di6SXp6z4iOaYcj9T6tfusY-R2MvMB43Xc5TlioSnlGHXV_8Kkya3vxEqp6m0pZHV_mqRST0LLHD2c0TkSmrh1OQ2FuuahTgk9UJ/s320/China+april+09+019.JPG" border="0" /><br />These little cakes were served as a dessert dish. They were warm, just out of the oven and were actually really good. They are made of green bean paste and coated in sesame seeds. They had the texture of a cookie fresh out of the oven - crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. There was some sweetness to them but I'm not sure what ingredient caused it. Nevertheless, it was a winning dish.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346265096906205410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHV67XF4qU4MCKRRBbl1u-U9SpIkG8ajwwFD3CGeAn6v2Nqc8BLv_XYDZKHVcAhTbee4wk7frh3dTQgpdnErqUtlSbrMKQJZrtDXgJ1qr-9twC0MQEd5Y-pxcifdRnOPX3ymcI4DbH/s320/China+april+09+023.JPG" border="0" /><br />So, wow. This item is called "thousand year old egg". Apparently, in China, the term "thousand years" means "a long time". So the concept here is that they bury a raw egg in the ground for a long time. Then they dig it up. Then they eat it.</p><div>I asked how long is "a long time" and I learned that these eggs typically stay underground for about 6 months before being harvested. You can see that the yolk has decayed into a solid green mass and the white has turned into an opaque rubbery brown substance.</div><br /><p>Honestly, are they just trying to think of new exciting ways to make even grosser food?<br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346266158773105474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_3Gf6wLvUyw0_CVnmmz07DPYNLmHcEybpQxvx7DfbJp5oHpPWuh4ABSjydoPInguZbcMoNS81mfLvYPxOWN_PMYfMX1JTW0R26Nr8tG_9zu7at8S9rz9ZwGE7_omPFqA1Ulmqgw8/s320/China+april+09+026.JPG" border="0" /><br /></p><div>I'll take a break here to mention that every meal, without fail, features an entire fish laid out on a plate. Scales, head, eyeballs, fins, tail, everything. You have to poke at the flesh and extract the meat (usually with small bones in it) with your chopsticks. I took before and after shots of many of the poor fish. Please enjoy.<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346267385866798418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuubiaeIDX676A-CJSlLu8gEWvgqHXoW2zJB-ILJHNZzIWSYvwt2vyxf9Es9PQtBnUa5DoGRXVyVcajbViyvkMJNvej9GeQdx2Nsynkkr85ADbeylDW-8_qXbRaUc61ARxBHmK1MJ/s320/China+april+09+003.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346267519976571890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-QHi7Q0Rn9LmddeJfy6pWjAnUwqLHBg4OsVXCLj3loLYJaaYh4ZpOm6N37CzlB0MFKVaMZffearx8t1jLdp8f_dJ1jFycyLRHXKHHdOpaq3OJE9fSSrEeTyXtb83WpcqOFkWZ0hD/s320/China+april+09+004.JPG" border="0" /><br /></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346267916063704018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9gjOpMjIyaAC6QwptMZlcpJJWXOWWTR_cvekLo-7PJj-1ERDpmjMb6QDWKf0NJQ-pchiNlqixwpJhmeY5Z4fDGMeI0oKlpdoittzbZ23CwyvXf8bHLLz_yTu8ta8OjPNLr6TacOm/s320/China+april+09+016.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346268104956398626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkPZEx6uXgCr-iecVBVv3zxEqJtFTL5_2z3ofZ8PxLqYOnzGgzeWHHCvSsxRCRk-ieWeIEwX1Pv0iR6Taf5BzDol40xL-v4Wzm4An8s_UIHW6qX2UllukA21WdJ3wnDs-1bwmZH_d/s320/China+april+09+022.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346270684738564578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflTTtRhcbDgMiIuo6DfRPxVAk1Hk53yN5ZI4vymeL91Qj5lmn5tLUpuoDzd8CK7aS6Cfx87g7Tm00ERoOGkZ4oaIDGZuU24NXjyGNYx53QjPijuB9ncsnY276tQA3dvNDMlO-J_mO/s320/China+april+09+077.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346270877491200018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGxtRMggv9Dqv5HxKDB3W91X57GJ0HguNrf8HfqvEyHJGf-ilGJ97T8D8Bh4U5kboZ4Lk6eds7ds_K8EhEmYwuRdxHvUJ89o1WrXr7EVBcXOS2uFy4keIoZlz2P3n_yua1eV4ReI7/s320/China+april+09+078.JPG" border="0" /><br />Enough fish. How about snails? The first picture is a plate of shelled, giant slugs. The second photo is a bowl of tiny snails still in their shells. Something for everyone!<br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346271410026599458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtoDkaOOuVO5kK4I-5Th_zeFAOAuSzFYtRkd6-3FDw_G8pESzygimE55G6F7vwb7A95eI7K6p_WcVNtFZFQNAWpCv8N1PIJaSyF1ntID9DufGydJb0gxbhoD8WqzEemjmJBq4gyw0/s320/China+april+09+075.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346271644652691282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib57O4ABk6u8lajYns4rA6P1nixU76wgNB1HaPtZrvV5JBEeJeS0yrGJZkiRcumsd0pK7FHbikzdk7tOcFDgy0pnDpPvNUodjYp1j3iPIlUSVwIaMdlvF9_625wLfJuBQXMKWMcwhv/s320/China+april+09+040.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Here's a photo of me outside of a restaurant where we had lunch one day. The name of the restaurant, translated, is "The Dog Won't Eat It". No lie.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346272276385001058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJ-m-afP8uD7OuZF3n-vRSb3IA_dSq3uwXt3TfdB7bsJkHqAipB5cvIQl_BB0IduHJdqas07wBHA_ctUoHfvEzBH2-z-5sGF9FLUtGE2dGdRDzkf44bwlfA6Aa8WNfYxD5pk9W4ws/s320/China+april+09+089.JPG" border="0" /><br /></div>Well here's a photo of the most vile, disgusting food I've ever been served in my life. It's called "stinky tofu". Tofu, by itself, is pretty gross. It is fermented bean curd after all. But regular tofu isn't even in the same stratosphere as stinky tofu.</div><br /><div>Stinky tofu is made by taking regular tofu, then sitting it on tables in direct sunlight for days and days, then taking into dark cool rooms where mold can thrive for days and days, then taking it back out into the sun for days and days, again and again. The aging process can last for months, depending on just how stinky you like your tofu. </div><br /><div>The consistency was like a burned brownie. The smell was nothing like a brownie.</div><br /><div>Honestly, when they brought it to the table it triggered our gag reflex. Two Chinese people at our table actually tried a bite but they both put down the rest of the piece on their plates. The dish circled around the table for about 2 minutes until we asked the waitress to take it away. She set it on a table behind one of the guys in our group and the smell remained so strong that he had to get up and leave. Finally they took it away altogether.</div><br /><div>Stinky tofu smells like a pig corral on the hottest day of July. I lost my appetite just from the stench. If there's anything fouler that people voluntarily eat in this world, I'll be amazed to find out what it is. Trust me - you don't want to get within 10 feet of stinky tofu.<br /><br /></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346274228108192834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgickDzVunr2ZZTyprU3pSThqkCY9Z5eYZQMStp91xQ8CGvLgVfKVIu2hgEtFPmC1ef0TzLimakhDivYVAN58o1rCakYistvTykr7rW7esWoXRz5-GdFZGlHYx3kC7m_CDcNwv70Yoc/s320/China+april+09+076.JPG" border="0" /><br />The trip was actually quite successful for our business purposes. I expect to be going back to Beijing sometime this year, and probably on a regular basis thereafter. I have learned that no matter where you go in China, it's not hard to find the golden arches. Those arches are always a welcome repreive, even if they are serving bean pies. (2 for a dollar - what a deal!)<br /><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346275797420698818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9B87q5CportlWGCYUIu0IzeqLso6VfIIPEyPZqNKDz68wdCh9mGalmRo2_b6v0AhxVjO2FVhu5ziFW4h59e-s18uwC5SjqIre3YZ0IkX1TPqhgci4BJNBKbOdqkXAp5BS8Qzy5Yc/s320/China+april+09+092.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>Speaking of beans, one evening "Geoff" and I went to a large mall looking for a movie theater with English movies. We didn't find one, but we found an ice cream vendor selling a white ice cream with brown chunks in it. It had its Chinese name on the label, and underneath it said "Cookies and Cream". Seemed safe enough so we bought it even though it was $3 (which is a lot to pay for snacks in China where everything is cheap). One bite into it, we learned that the brown chunks were boiled black beans, all mushy and beany. Sorry - no photo - but you can imagine my dismay.</div><br /><div>Oh, here's a cool thing. I broke my personal land-speed record. Previously, the fastest I had ever traveled on land was 161 mph in Geoff Knools' BMW Z8 a few years ago. We hit that mark somewhere in the Beaver Triangle on a trip down to Vegas.</div><br /><div>But 161 ain't nothin', my friends. We took a bullet train from Tianjin to Beijing and hit 204 mph during the trip. That train was smoove - there was no vibration and virtually no sound. Check it out.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346277789588224866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu28ByP0zNpkvCMepn2E_p_wUkwZ_4JkNiniQRQpFqRBYAEPw3xPj4xNq6rFc24Yn2n0m4VPRk1rWzVTzvfqNSZTT77XB2uB0dutPOzZIYa8VuzHG4m3_pmLATNf-QzeHfVf8jjT5W/s320/China+april+09+095.JPG" border="0" /><br />We had a lot of adventures on this trip. I swashbuckled my way through the Silk Market en route to tons of great shopping bargains. I toured a 100% organic farming community that grows all of its food inside mud huts with plastic tarps for a roof. We met with the management of an enormous steel factory and saw the molten ore glowing as it was poured into I-beam formations. I even played a round of golf at a "country club" in Beijing, where the rented clubs were Dunlops that were of a mid-1980's vintage (I shot 84 from the back tees despite the terrible sticks).</div><br /><div></div><div>Here's a parting photo - one that will inspire you to visit Beijing yourself the next chance you get. This is Sidney, one of the guys in our group. In this photo, he is just finishing off the fourth scorpion on a skewer that he purchased from the street vendor behind him. That's China.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346280113618483138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRQmsT7V-sYDrUX47YAHSJuQXe88cK4lD2sWpHug7kPqpzovU26EtpJERvM_HGD5Dhk9Y8myJvMm47vA1-PIRzvXswouxLPWIdR_dABvpRo-bzGGnk4vWFyThtn_mhJpVYpk-71P4/s320/China+april+09+152.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-70481565508074502602009-04-23T21:13:00.004-06:002009-04-23T21:16:06.326-06:00The Delicious Cycle<div>Thanks to Scott Wessman, who pointed me to this comic strip illustrating the delicious dilemmas I face every day at meal time.</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328090994761450914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBV3CWm3mpVf4n4AewGeYFaezDCHALTtNjac5TdyUuSLihcj8z7BAI-hTTvBqe7-G7AxwXvtYozF1ZEwQ0ksWBpmqAUFhF5Uh10x4OTXJ9KYrk_EWlSUv5p1j4W2ThY_1Y0utZ2pIV/s320/delicious.png" border="0" /><br /><div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-64311749928667839312009-04-15T12:08:00.028-06:002009-04-22T18:45:46.534-06:00Spring Break 2009 - Europe or bust!Last week was spring break for the kids. We were planning to take a trip to Disneyland. Wanting to avoid Disneyland's crowds and heat in the summer, and knowing that the new baby will be here in October, the week of spring break looked like our best chance to make a Disney trip happen in the next two years or so. But two days before we were planning to leave I found out I had to leave for Europe the next day for work. Honestly - no golf clubs or nuthin'.<br /><br /><div><div><div>The trip ended up being a whole lot of work and not too much spare time to goof around, but I snapped a few photos. </div><div></div><div>First, of course, it's Britain's most well known food: Nachos</div><div><div><br /></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327355011131194994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTGV_SEUCU3aCJUlhi5fiFdx1cWKal-oBR6FjNpI3BlRgXnumcHv82Pwc4-KmOWCTBztRbCaw6ZY5xgutuiu9isFWTwp6dOYj0-rxIhg8zY5vo55nbypf6UKo2GyzXkCWQbdoKY8z/s320/Europe+011.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>Despite being delicious, the preparation was a little odd. The chips were kind of like a generic version of Doritos, seasoned with the cheese flavor. It's not known how often the cook is called upon to prepare an order of nachos, but it might not be that often because a good 30% of my chips came out "extra crispy". </p><p>The plate featured two large blobs of mostly-melted cheese sitting atop the pile of chips. The ratio of jalepenos to chips was quite high. The sour cream was a little britishy and the salsa was kind of bland, but the guacamole was nice. </p><p>What really made this dish memorable were the environs in which I enjoyed it. Who can say naught of "The Clarence"? This place is an olde world pub that features a lunch and dinner menu in addition to its wide array of spirits. Because this was not my first trip to Europe, I coolly ordered my Pepsi in a pint glass, thereby avoiding the classic American mistake of ordering a soda and ending up with about 4 fluid ounces in a tiny glass. The Clarence is only a short couple of blocks down the street from Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc. and I highly recommend that you stop in for a plate of nachos the next time you're in London. In the meantime, please enjoy these photos of The Clarence.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327370895915415986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW36hFy_JOgIoRDe0GQMbPVeGBGVHtMlJlB_To0jSf2-vmTmSQRTFVDZn335m_SxGakLDnGUQEhj7GVKthNHJAzz1z-AnaFjXid-2T9RMxs96Qjd4nUo0bt0ZuCruxPWa6WpzhlCXx/s320/Europe+012.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327371138543741746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSKKXTlG3kSTx4C59I7PeR4vdDQPlIwAH1T3ZhzfKSsGDefDVaRRo30nnZv_AS_14oyuElF1tsVvO89eY_IpXJUKKuFMfSFeMTDXnvKIZ6_NceFiERPLPll_n9YpkUalpDHUvy4ql/s320/Europe+010.JPG" border="0" /></div><div></div><div></div><div>Jeff and I walked back to the hotel so I snapped a few shots of Big Ben and Parliament. We didn't stop to check them out, or visit the other tourist sites close by because, let's be honest, Jeff doesn't care about that stuff one bit. </div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327375828678851650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDt9RyWuFdCWU_7mv2tSfVMBtEikVgC-aiv3-9mlfEqWeB6Hsb4kG_2xjJcRT4SLH5YI_n4JN6IDmNsw2x91tdcRfSelPVai6mq7Zl2O_dGKpS4G1hKf-msIf2GPrKHjX-Ynb6fGH/s320/Europe+006.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327373372754587938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdFZrIK543KnbSLsUIjonWp0geJBosmLb-CiV6bppaHAv8gpkurqRRSaEq2DHn49m-dmAWLgJoccJXHLUwx_wCeQveEMJ1wMWu2iyXzBWn70u_2wImo2_-pCQoZCb4iJmDZRI1aD2/s320/Europe+008.JPG" border="0" /><br />Most hotels in Europe are terrible. I navigated around that fact quite nicely with my choice of the Sofitel St. James, pictured below. I highly recommend it. </div><div><br /><br /><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327373595906757762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrvnv5h1ajsV4U4fYa1GsUsdbb-Of8ZRHpIOExWvLDSQF0Kz-KKnNl6e3Bjoj3z8c4w8VydeFHyKGb4iJzB_7yohuBj5W5hg3701XAypf9XcxH4RNXqVhWBtuW-4WxAhC6yLxcfTYx/s320/Europe+013.JPG" border="0" /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>At the end of the week we flew to Zurich, Swizterland for a day and a half. I had never been to Switzerland and I must say it is quite charming. Here are a couple of shots of the cobblestone street and shops outside our hotel: </div><div><br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327374738413461314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQGWic1JHhFnmamGPoGKEbpRUEPVtfGPN8uziwwzpP6gJukXtVcKem3pv5Mlok7r_6BkKvdHLqPKBlAKBz94kte5oXAiWLGi362IpS2ATQtFeH9Sko7cc_wo20kNfVxoUnZDmpRIx/s320/Europe+019.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327374882581607010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9Qo6OLFU0cELJfXgPMq-HQYAn7jw8qikVRHQWOkA7aAM-xA142zvZNW4idja5jTYDm8sJkEQX0V2uWf8W5cp-t_30cS43WbVNrGFUWgjltWhtl_-O0cljNwL7jD0T83HY-a7S9cD/s320/Europe+020.JPG" border="0" /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>As you probably know, the main food preferred by the Swiss is, well, nachos. When in Rome . . .</div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327375263463597154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJ6hp3Agg3hDmvkVlYhrAhlGASSXNNgek2jQCqzbPUV3sjUut_beefGWtmxeG3T_1I85miYnclgH8d0vA3LUPZ39bzurkZV1-_TsdYf0YcfKsXgjDHWMIpl6UrX6xGTusTYw4iszQ/s320/Europe+016.JPG" border="0" /> </div><br /><div>The sour cream was definitely problematic. Surprisingly, the chips were quite nice. I wouldn't put the guacamole in my Top 10 of all time, but the portion was decent and overall this dish wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Along with these beauties I also ordered chicken fajitas. They were served as two tortillas, filled precisely to the brim with cubed pieces of chicken, glued together with cheese so that the tortillas formed a taco shape that held its form at all times. No salsa, no onions or peppers, but they were actually not too bad. </div><div> </div><div></div>In the morning I enjoyed a delightful bowl of museli. This was a granola-yogurt concoction infused with fresh apples and nuts. The picture doesn't do it justice, but I have to say it was delicious! <div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327377647738287218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZszW5wwNDwAbKH9EK7HHzFvyTDI3zfQ6ppva7-8zUqFPZOR8Q7BYIWh_iTFbnDKHJFlQE27suLC2KqnhSBEEL1jDgvA89o_P9jk9aGjFQjiXdqxVWXl_u5KXOqJSkchF8N9nim_yo/s320/Europe+018.JPG" border="0" /> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>We had a layover at London Heathrow before flying back to the states. I love shopping in convenience stores and snack shops in Europe because they always have the most interesting flavors of treats and drinks. I enjoyed this Gorgeous Cloudy Lemon soda on the plane . . .</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327378720800013714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZLfB8QBqIZZFnBLWJTRRCwy2pgMCMf5LK12KhfFsBQyC_y5melIk4Z3MB6ioR4vL8EIf-EtcjXQaeq1YmlAByjdVDmu-yrJImTQXF3sHAA-Mqt7GOvB7IBthj2NmOSkRKrit5kGu/s320/Europe+022.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>. . . along with these chips. The flavor printed on the bag is not a joke. These chips were seasoned with a flavor that tasted exactly like a combination of cajun spices and squirrel. Not surprisingly, I would not recommend these (but I did eat the whole bag on the plane).</div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327378293438126930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5n7L_JcB7vvVtuHuLNluClI9RbF-NVTVWOUnGn_GnWu2z_IF-fFvELebhIBbONn84SKYnjdyytSEs0_QiU5VKzUqrw8iY0rp1zudX3QXOZ7WlSAWhxAg0zYGS9DtgJDBnpVdSskLL/s320/Europe+021.JPG" border="0" /><br />I wanted to upgrade my cabin class for the long flight home, but I found out at the ticket counter that the cost to upgrade into Traveller Plus (not even Business Class or First Class) was $4,000. Staying with my economy class ticket seemed like the prudent thing to do. <div></div><div>That's it. Spring Break 2009 - Europe or bust.<br /></div><div></div></div></div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-15575422540205545682009-04-05T20:13:00.009-06:002009-04-05T21:00:13.501-06:00Medium-length statements of updateBelow are several medium-length statements of update.<br /><br />1. For those closely following my weight loss endeavors, I got down to 173.2 but am now sitting at 176.1. I downloaded the "Lose It" app after seeing it on an iPhone commercial and it is fantastic. I'm trying to get down to 170 but I'm not going to continue skipping dinner anymore. Mainly because dinner is delicious.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ea9FXzo5Md-z8a98bZ1FHtrGA4S0pPNlcnHzxber7kfwaEOCbXT_cc5uhrZkXKnTydrb8UJeF2P7ascTrdKVrDaYehLf6u2p1MGWcnuVre_Fs7vy9-ZKpCccB6ZC299-rTP1pBuf/s1600-h/tar_heel.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321406753646508546" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 160px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ea9FXzo5Md-z8a98bZ1FHtrGA4S0pPNlcnHzxber7kfwaEOCbXT_cc5uhrZkXKnTydrb8UJeF2P7ascTrdKVrDaYehLf6u2p1MGWcnuVre_Fs7vy9-ZKpCccB6ZC299-rTP1pBuf/s320/tar_heel.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />2. UNC easily swatted away Villanova in the Final Four last night, precisely as I predicted. Well, I predicted they would win by 13 and the final margin was 14 so it wasn't precisely as I predicted, but pretty close. Now the Heels will play Michigan State on Monday night for all the marbles. It'll be another easy win - margin 11 points - and our household will be rocking and rolling. I made a weak attempt at getting Cali's commitment to give our forthcoming baby a Tarheel-themed name if they win the title just like we did the last time the Heels were champs(2005), but she rebuffed the advance soundly.<br /><br />3. Notwithstanding tonight's Braves/Phillies game, tomorrow is the official Opening Day for Major League Baseball. Opening Day is the greatest day of the year.<br /><br />4. Regarding her broken leg, Carolina told me last week: "Dad, if someone jumps on your leg then that is just an accident. But if someone doesn't jump on your leg, you can keep walking."<br /><br />5. When you put your head down and plow forward, keeping the faith, trusting in yourself and your intuition, then the feeling of finally realizing a goal is immensely gratifying.<br /><br />6. I keep saying that I'm going to run the Tokyo Marathon in February 2010 but so far none of my cohorts are giving me any details about registration. I'm only committing to run so I can take a trip to Japan. So unless somebody takes the lead and gets our registration questions answered, I'm not going to waste time jogging around the block over and over again.Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-77298041259559401442009-03-08T11:48:00.002-07:002009-03-08T12:05:43.611-07:00Mission Accomplished - 10 lbs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD12BfTU2APUCft0VyjrfjyqLPrlOI3wpPCm36nPSUgmsBaonBFJO6dQI1lo1WUFPIEj4MxkGyd8wutDbZr88AV29YYN3I2UM_cfuCHwmrd0sZ8MBKgs2wVuPRwPUA-1HvQn5xXEJV/s1600-h/Mission+Accomplished.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD12BfTU2APUCft0VyjrfjyqLPrlOI3wpPCm36nPSUgmsBaonBFJO6dQI1lo1WUFPIEj4MxkGyd8wutDbZr88AV29YYN3I2UM_cfuCHwmrd0sZ8MBKgs2wVuPRwPUA-1HvQn5xXEJV/s320/Mission+Accomplished.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310895115991012754" /></a><br />I did it. I lost 10 pounds. It took 14 days of no-carb suffering but I did it.<br /><br />Now that I am a svelte 175 lbs, offers for leading movie roles and male model contracts have been pouring in. Flattering, but I'm a family man so I've instructed my people to tell their people that I'm not interested.<br /><br />Like the classic George W. Bush incident pictured here, it's true that my diet is "Mission Accomplished" but there's still some more work to do. I'd like to get to 173.5 in the next week or so, and ultimately I'd like to maintain an active weight of 170. I've committed to run the Tokyo Marathon a year from now, so as long as I stick with that commitment I'm confident that I'll remain slim and trim for the forseeable future.<br /><br />Now I'm off to make some nachos. It's been a long two weeks.Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-24394696627441451062009-03-05T20:19:00.006-07:002009-03-05T20:38:57.926-07:00I'm a loser - 9 pounds and counting<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPyqyRh62RNgyiP_ausbFIekjEK1fKiUbM4dcE1gFxYLtJGXqTlXLyyDZuqvkRoPCGph0fCAB4eVzCxXOapYykCf2C1R9ZjujsXwZiC1Sf3yKUFGDUewSO4rc90rLh7RXPkx7DUOy-/s1600-h/grab+stomach+fat.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPyqyRh62RNgyiP_ausbFIekjEK1fKiUbM4dcE1gFxYLtJGXqTlXLyyDZuqvkRoPCGph0fCAB4eVzCxXOapYykCf2C1R9ZjujsXwZiC1Sf3yKUFGDUewSO4rc90rLh7RXPkx7DUOy-/s320/grab+stomach+fat.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309911952610569938" /></a><br />My friend, let's call him Nick Beef, started an Atkins-esque diet about a month ago. He weighed 260 pounds at the time and he's lost 20 pounds so far. 10 days ago, after getting annoyed that we had to choose lunch restaurants based on his new dietary requirements, I decided to try to lose some weight as well. I have been drudging along at about 185 pounds for the last year, which is 10 pounds more than the 175 I weighed for the previous 11+ years.<br /><br />I've never been one for diets - life is too short - but that attitude was much easier to justify when my weight was in an acceptable range. I wasn't sure how much commitment I'd be able to muster on this attempted diet, but I started losing weight right away so the positive results have kept me going. After 10 days I've lost exactly 9 pounds and I'm down to a slim 176.6 lbs.<br /><br />I checked a Body Mass Index calculator today to find out where 176 stacks up, and it turns out that it falls just outside the "Normal Weight" classification. That's another way of saying that I'm still in the "Overweight" classification. In fairness, those classifications are pretty agressive by lazy American standards. Check out your own weight <a href="http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/">here</a> and you'll probably be pretty mad at the BMI calculator. It doesn't factor in age, for example, so if anyone knows of a better calculator let me know.<br /><br />So my goal was to go from 185.6 to 175.0. Now the BMI calculator tells me that I need to hit 173.5 in order to qualify as "Normal Weight". I guess I'll stick with this diet through the weekend and hope that I can get there. I'm about 10 days away from heading to Vegas for the annual March Madness debauchery so I really want to hit this target weight before then.<br /><br />By the way, the photo accompanying this post is not a photo of my torso. It's some stock photo I lifted from Google images. If it were a picture of me you can be assured, among other things, that I would have cropped the photo about an inch higher at the bottom.Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-59089041049166739052009-02-18T23:27:00.006-07:002009-02-19T00:31:05.580-07:00Sunday SavingsSo, for reasons pertaining to my faith I choose not to engage in commercial activities on Sundays. Some people of my faith are much more hardcore than me. These people choose not to watch television or surf the internet on Sundays, for example. Others are less stringent in their observance than I am, participating in some recreational activities with family such as boating or going to the movies. Despite this range of practice habits, I rarely give it much thought and I'm quite comfortable with my level of observance.<br /><br />And then every now and then something comes along to challenge my stick-to-it-ness.<br /><br />The Flight of the Conchords are playing at Abravanel Hall on SUNDAY, May 17th. What? Is this the dumbest concert promoter of all time? Who schedules a band to play Salt Lake City on a Sunday?<br /><br />Once, when I was a teenager, our next door neighbor offered my dad some Redskins vs. Cardinals football tickets that he couldn't use that weekend. I overheard my dad thank him, but tell him that we don't attend sporting events on Sundays.<br /><br />When I was in college, one of my all-time favorite bands (Belly) was playing at a club in Tempe on a Sunday night. I stayed home. I never got a chance to see them live before they broke up.<br /><br />Two weeks ago, in the culmination of a lifetime of waiting, my Arizona Cardinals played in the Super Bowl against incalculable odds. I didn't go to Tampa for the game (and I saved about $10k in ticket costs in the process).<br /><br />I have to remind myself about these things.<br /><br />To torture myself, I checked on ticket availability for the Flight of the Conchords show in SLC. Whoa! $250 and up per ticket for a show at Abravenel Hall? Hey, observing the Sabbath never felt so great! It's a Sunday Savings!<br /><br />They are playing in Phoenix two days later on Tuesday, May 19 . . . anybody want to make a trip out of it? Please enjoy this excellent vignette to whet your appetite:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/64a_1fWTsls&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/64a_1fWTsls&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-43971185765984884612009-02-13T19:51:00.028-07:002009-02-14T14:21:28.140-07:00Peru: The Final ChapterEnding rampant speculation and weeks of anxious waiting for an update to this highly-trafficked blog, no, I didn't die in Peru. But I've almost been killed by my workload resultant from taking 10 days off, so I'm only now getting a chance to come up for air and post the remaining thrills, chills, and ills from the Peru 2009 Tour.<br /><br />When my tale last left off, I'd been spotted kissing alpacas, sampling beef hearts from Peruvian street vendors, and running the Incan trail. This recklessness was about to catch up to me in a hurry.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>By late afternoon we made it to Urubamba, a small city nestled in a spectacular Andean valley.<br /></div><div><div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302486169869017922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xyO5kQblelfucn-97Q7AtNlcI7BP-uU4SRAu_7U69lauK6B13yLmqxcE0RoGPKEbWmrOHHdP6SDbxoXE_VwUGy5GK4lTx14G38mjzCsJ_K-68b_4zWn2NTTSEB7pMcJIgfg1UL8U/s320/valle_urubamba.jpg" border="0" /> The city dates back to Incan times and its main attraction is an impressive set of ruins that were primarily used for worship by Incan priests and royalty. Although the Inca were very advanced in terms of astrology and math, they certainly didn't invent large SUV's - if the size of the city streets is any indicator:<br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302484358864019266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigD8v13oJUeMqmQWf8pSp1WJh1YadQtFQk7pyiePDRi9b4fwBMBItyIiKYjK3_V91L9hyQj7eLabAMVAjs9OM3MHvSsY-AYZ8bnuEBdDIcGrNgIGlob2Ga65eRAfc65j7IgVOBV-S5/s320/088.JPG" border="0" /> The ruins were expansive, built straight into the side of the mountain with extensive terracing to create useable space. Credit the Inca for their hard work and genius in making sheer cliffs into inhabitable spaces, but take off a couple of points for their failure to figure out that building these massive structures on the flat ground at the valley floor would have been much easier. </div><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302487185770033410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGbXx3U_5cGmS1TPzTIY0XnXOHggJN06cMDrfkQg1BAM6K-2Ao_wJVziZKLuDXg9GctrgKPzTHwBAPHFWemPciB1odSC3qAn66HKp47-A0j94z1-UKuhr953NxZ0lwIMfKu8mXF8O/s320/090.JPG" border="0" />This site, called Ollantaytambo, was constructed on a mountainside opposite a huge mountainside forming the other valley wall. After building their temple on the one mountainside, they carved an enormous face on the opposite valley wall, ostensibly a portrait of their ruler king. Not exactly Mount Rushmore, but pretty impressive still.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302487903738011298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsVLNT5HToFvh6jFYwlrwyTsJRCmmx7zZrPFqASZvOhEIA5LpGY3RRmDbfkq83fJb1NPSULdLf61NC5LBLqQL4VPDEhqytxnppw2iurSlLZbXhzLWmO2wYggvdySgYycAAxJ9SHF3/s320/Ollantaytambo+face.bmp" border="0" /> After visiting this site we retired to our hotel - a fantastic upscale place that had been converted from a hundreds-of-years-old monastery. Within about 10 minutes of sitting down for dinner in their restaurant, I was feeling nauseous and loopy. I scarcely made a dent in my fettucine carbonara (so you know something was definitely wrong) before heading straight back to the room. I had severe chills and my stomach was riding the Viper coaster at Magic Mountain. I took a steaming hot shower for about 40 minutes to fend off the chills, but spent the next hour or so planted firmly on the pot. Cali rounded up some bactrim and ibuprofen but by the time I took the pills I couldn't put a set of coherent thoughts together. I just remember thinking that it was a real bummer that I was going to die in the mountains of Peru just hours before making it to Macchu Pichu.</p><p>Sometime in the middle of the night I woke up completely covered in sweat, fever broken, with the restored ability to think straight. The medicine had kicked in and I was so happy to be free of the chills. Around 5:30 a.m. we got up and drove to the train station for the 90 minute ride to Macchu Pichu city. I felt okay and thought I was home free, but the train ride ahead had plenty of adventure in store for me.</p><p>I spent more than half of the 90 minute train ride sitting in the phone booth-sized lavatory in the back. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that from the space and layout, to the mechanics of the toilet, to the availability of the supplies - this facility was not designed for "heavy use". I would have stayed in there the whole trip, but about an hour into it someone started knocking on the door. Then banging on the door. Then banging and saying something in some language I couldn't discern. At first I ignored it and then I shouted back "I'm IN HERE!" a few times, but every 3 minutes or so the knocking would begin again.</p><div>I finally decided to close up shop and head back to my train seat. When I came out of there, some Euro chick was lurking in a nearby seat, babbling about something (probably me) to her group of Eurotrash pals. I shot her the nastiest look I could conjure. I later saw her several times on the ruins at Macchu Pichu and I gave her a mean look each time.</div><br /><div>Here's me back in my seat, trying to sit as still as possible while the train rumbled through the valleys towards Macchu Pichu.</div><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302735031509124850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOl03w-LwQMaapp8rDIPfq_ets_56xFEJ4FGQ3ugN0u7yNy5zlkMUMs3ic0gVXUT3nMPA2m4DAYt3yqOMlI-uEeutjlM1XR3rdkK1sE4Gthxw03WbgpX2FOObkkDqUg9JhaMuF-dP5/s320/026.JPG" border="0" />We hit a local pharmacy in Macchu Pichu city and within minutes I was feeling great. Although I would spend the next 7 days making double digit visits to the restroom, from this point forward I felt great - just in time to visit one of the most breathtaking sites in the world.</p><p>Macchu Pichu is amazing. Again, I can't understand why the Inca decided to build their fortresses into the sheer sides of mountains. But they did, and the remains are stunning. Here are a few shots of this tremendous archeological site:</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302737299229659282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3Qv5ODZVBTP6oR6pweduFbeUyoKkJhlXzFc6st38NbcCUv1Rdp6xKFMR8mPSg9GzyPPkwJHxa2azPhBasC-68YqUCjvdKFa7dlVkOLbN9X5fwIxkuQJs8wEYk0mDSajIY8F95QW6/s320/039.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302737882206799858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Rcp-mieUYiGDd3ev5nfZJWUDYqUkQa6ujDcvcQoVK-mx8a1JRF9U7G3jRtjUMYMcybbzr2IEfFzUVgbnljmKSKiTJo1IhxXKXUga61y7SD7ZI2T1eCCPR0Vejlx8IQQS-H30Lm_i/s320/040.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302738459875243218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftVZ0nwvY4TLOwOAW4hyojUK-gen0t-VrfjpcNgES4bxpFNFhj5lPptHlQo0MPmMI4OFVYDrRha4ouvudHESLxnwEWrocuGb3lnX3l8H1WrUAilfZ8XzPtUfpSPj13jId8jHETEIB/s320/050.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302738695375301922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81qJ_2MpLCFtWRL6fPuhfCKwjXkxZgSlQt1r8UNzWGpCDpJQNxfL3Qcji2gqPSx0NHcyxuLbWorURZyshZ43jk6wxeALIpWK2INpn2dVc1QVuZ9UB0wNSirqInTw6iqdOLNExTZH6/s320/054.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302738949865788962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTZCngWkW3VRSlRdP2bCXlls5JPPvt08DL9kZhY66ZDQsiGUBVqnVWPmfPNbrwlrHWzGKG4WnRdAwqZ5HUBaJh8ysbjUAngtshFaXyzhFllzMTV9YeeqAYmRWZCBsIuemwI9vB-Bg/s320/061.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302743630012306226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QJ9eYXv91RrxZbouXY2cwbaLp5g7jdrJwKvGhtIjoRYzLOY7aEboohk0JKsXT091aWXC24y_V8apEbNrc7KPN7fRFiA74JGCxjBqkArgNVyf9zkAeKpK0sUIHRpHD6S2mj9-C5Kg/s320/083.JPG" border="0" /> We spent about 6 hours touring these amazing ruins and then shopping/resting in Macchu Pichu town as we waited for the return train. By that evening we'd made it all the way back to Cusco, to the comforts of the Hotel El Puma again.</div><br /><div>And then the sickness hit Cali like a bullet train hitting a brick wall. For about 24 hours she was totally knocked off her feet. Luckily the following day was Sunday, so she rested for most of the day trying to recover for the trip back to Lima on Monday. Here's a photo of her when she was finally able to sit up - we'll see how long she allows me to keep this picture up here.<br /></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302747047230659074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTOMpFc2cPZGETpdqfrvcXbm8XnKVrM5tZUcHRdfxzxKpoDbRTyAdHPnaVaVwjKJkaoTwnG4Dxfw1tMtO-w_WWCacOvA3aju3maXVSI9FmlbJh5WKuDaKNrRYugMLVUURnShGhb28/s320/Lima+033.JPG" border="0" /> Late Sunday afternoon I took my laptop down to the lobby of the Hotel El Puma (3 stars) to access their wireless signal. With the aid of some Slingbox magic, I watched the Eagles vs. Cardinals NFC Championship Game. As improbable as it seemed at the time, I had a quiet calm about me heading into this game. I believed the unthinkable - that the Arizona Cardinals could make it to the Super Bowl.<br /><br /><div>Three hours later, following some tense moments and, from the view of the hotel's front desk staff, random outbursts of me yelling at or cheering for my laptop, the Redbirds had done it! At the time the thing I wanted more than anything was to be with my dad, my sons, and my cousin Cannon to celebrate. Lifetimes of longsuffering were vanquished! I exchanged some treasured emails with my family back home - I know it's just football, but when you have suffered and languished with this team for as long as we have, spending tens of thousands of dollars and committing family vacations to follow the team during training camp year after year, the euphoria we felt after winning this game was tops.</div><br /><div>The next morning we flew back to sea level at Lima. We spent the next several days touring around that cool city, checking out Cali's old school from her 3 years there in the late 80's, touring the old house they lived in at that time, visiting the Lima Temple, touring Doug and Connie's offices.</div><div></div><div>The school Cali attended was a private school for expatriate kids and the curriculum was very advanced. Some recently-completed schoolwork from the current students was on display, so I snapped this photo from one of the grade school classrooms. From the display header, I learned that this exercise was to identify items on the continuum of Impossible all the way to Very Likely. Under the "Likely" designation, the kid who drew the picture in the lower right corner is apparently a lover of pork.</div><div></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302759124228357458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSU0_zA0X9cO_bGgIzQeQPo87Rmdxad4nd5MxgT79JRdZtdaZadVwySmgaqDfxjEExuule5xC0ZWos8dbkERQjskbM5976SQUN0RWkSNHHbglzAruaxr8d3C9YAkRlu4pzEBp7LEv/s320/Lima+036.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>During these couple of days in Lima we also took in a few movies and ate some delicious American food (Chilis, Dominos, and this funky hot dog combo platter I got at the cinema. Yes, those are mini french fries on top of the dog, next to the churro).<br /></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302750313135469442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgK7ksaBwyoqDN5cZ0djmFmbEmabEy7vzpWPyo3nqKHI9E2HUFTHBRod4L4kMkhYkkERJcm2rkNwBSPgdg1UNHs3i6Vr0tRL61FJPsramXCav3JpaA9sEOPS4fV5-qqi8flotlo92y/s320/Lima+035.JPG" border="0" />On our last day Doug arranged for us to take a city tour in a double-decker bus. We saw the cool attractions of the city, and luckily we had Doug and Connie to narrate for us because our "English-speaking" tour guide was struggling to put meaningful English words in sequence.</p><p>Two fun things about the bus tour: first, the double-decker bus was pretty tall and we sat in the open air seats on the roof. As we drove through the city, the low-hanging electrical wires crossing the streets were regularly passing within 1-2 feet of our heads, sometimes closer than that. Good times!</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302753029121287794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIhJjac5SHXzLm2jARuf777_qyCsu6ONaL3FoPLy5MQ9XC8W3uahVnoTV9Ed2Zs8j0IKRE0iMn3q2dIr5VUaNjdEuzvMlNK6s2sG-v3E4J9bVpBZ3H4rWdMj2AFfUC0hiZRO3v1Sp/s320/202.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>Second, the highlight of the tour was when we stopped at a 400-year old church in the "old city" area that was first settled by the invading imperialists. The church had lots of groovy architecture, furnishings, and artwork. The main chapel was huge; ornately decorated and beautifully constructed like a classic gothic cathedral in Europe. At the apse in the front, a Peruvian woman was kneeling in worship, singing to the crucifix. She sang beautifully and she didn't seem distracted by all of the tourists walking around her.</div><br /><div>The best part of this church tour, however, was the tour of the catacombs. There were at least 3 sub-terranean levels. The floors of the catacombs were dirt and the walls were rudimentary adobe and stone constructions - totally unlike the beautiful finish work of the above-ground cathedral. The ceiling height in the catacombs was about 6 feet at the most and there were several passageways that required us to duck down to a height of 5 feet or so. </div><br /><div>What were the catacombs used for? Burying dead patrons of the church, of course. Fair enough - I've been to Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Vatican, and dozens of other churches and cathedrals throughout Europe and Latin America. I've seen their vaults and crypts and mausoleums. Most are beautifully decorated in honor of the deceased located inside the tombs.</div><br /><div></div><div>None that I've seen are just enormous pits of skulls and bones. And that's where the catacombs of this church were a little different than what I expected to see.<br /></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302756345239132626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiybJWuLn7tjc8bO5MbpAFyx_uf0Egdsr5g6dYw3tkc9Tpmk3ifMgUqFGlBsD843j8lb6vb4-EEAZxsRuFwkc-BbIALjImum1MIv2_15zl0OP_VWA0l-BSival9jI_IZ4mHfcDTyh/s320/Lima+037.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302756527349543602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIfrGKFWMHBjhHhiN5vViGZ3cM9tn2Kntz7GobNMNFgrs-6eTVT1J9H9KQ6hWjLlVnWVICRjIXcT1FwYhsN7RIHtuY7pzdOwWgaNPBZYWbzE3VmwdQeMVRBlbkBB_AIpEypXxk4AV/s320/Lima+038.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302756749048563778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLB0jnQIINlks4X8ZtS2fVO8DBGwHJqN4JiU1dkgxOJTxWVb1_Y4cNHtHP9UfGKYJ0jaey-w5vFbgQMUDg5sT8PkbpP_jUxaIKf4C3yourb3Rj0_KrQSKPYkYbhVFR3agp4826vi9H/s320/Lima+039.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302756951434379186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwM3a8oYWWWt4TktLW9NMwjEqSCQmFRrPGe3j05jd6Q1_H4bK3UW1Tb8AxQPX1T4L5JXXfMow82AReZGlG_FDn5QgWgO9rsMG1cSKsOLue_7BmViAkISnt4EHk9j84GntVyD8vUoD/s320/Lima+040.JPG" border="0" />The tour guide said that there are about 20,000 people buried down there. Yeah, that looks about right.</div><br /><div></div><div>This trip to Peru was fantasitc. Despite the stomach issues, we were on the go the entire time. Doug and Connie gave up their time to make sure we saw everything and had a great experience. I know Cali and Justin loved being back in Lima, reminiscing about the time they lived there 20 years ago.</div><div></div><div></div><div>I don't know if I'll make it back to Peru any time soon, so the chance to see Macchu Pichu and experience Lima was wonderful. Thanks to Doug and Connie for making it such a great trip! </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3538633919939854689.post-79235122046744005082009-01-18T17:06:00.033-07:002009-01-19T09:52:35.948-07:00More PeruInternet access here has been limited so I can't give my loyal readers the day-by-day rundown. But the action here has been fast and furious, so here's the latest:<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>On our second day we flew to the mountain city of Cusco. Lima is on the shores of the Pacific ocean and Cusco is 9000 feet in the Andes. I was really worried about getting altitude sickness but we all kept ourselves hydrated and experienced few side effects (climbing stairs, scaling ruins, etc. seem harder than they should but maybe that's because I'm out of shape to begin with). We just learned that we have to sit down and rest more often . . .<br /></div><div><div>. . . which we can do at our leisure, because Doug "gave" Cali and me two of these nifty tripod chairs, and two more to Justin and Angelique, and told us that if we could sell them for 100 soles per chair then he would cover the cost of our food in Lima next week. If not, we'd get to cover the food for the group. Doug sells these chairs to whomever he can convince to buy them, after he buys them from a Peruvian man who makes them by hand. The man doesn't have any other work, so Doug's frequent chair purchases are feeding the man and his family. Here's Cali doing her best to sell a chair at the Lima airport: </div><div><br /> </div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292793607917412162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxAV2Vk28LoDMvl2ev9jwOoOFlCiOhycA-dq7Z_BswFxNJR1lDlVoDZnrebgrj-NBL33bfBdGBLqv6XJV7tvOE7riYqUyDsBxJ3-xNEjR1OTwkBWw0UgjEhXS5_9TGWZlrXCsjrUv/s320/Peru+2+003.JPG" border="0" /><br />We arrived in Cusco and checked into our hotel - the world famous El Puma Hotel. Don't be jealous just because we are chilling in a pad with 3 Stars and you are not.</div><div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292794421626531202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsWZjsq-XaP4aS4h9UPFy21q_guEtx11T7mVXXhtpXrCGU3iiL5FYt87Nf4Z9-oKooXrCHOrDQk4mnqE1WHI91PTbRVChAx67edcOsekihn6ZGJdrNoxYr_q8Mo95Zr4mfWRKgBGH/s320/Peru+2+004.JPG" border="0" /> After resting briefly at El Puma Hotel to acclimate to the altitude, we struck out on a tour of the greater Cusco area to view several excellent Incan ruins sites. Please enjoy these snapshots of the tour, including the bottom two which I took of the same (obviously European tourist) guy that I saw at two different sites. It took a few tries to get the second shot, and by that time I think he knew I was stalking him. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292795872626137426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfjBuH2hMGSzDAzD62IhcjGNtRJvoTMe5AWAxCUeI_SPzHjlbKQ496dul6SivkivTfghXUTwSe9AeU7FYblJd6vIap_c7W6W9lWLAGiPpu59n6y1G9ZfS53f8ikTlmxKP_blfGpOd/s320/Peru+2+010.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292796265699630754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAnkYy3zYLTlBxx7gbGb4VVq8yGQftm8ezvGFUloYjXT9_moHL_gfR-AAezgIIHT5e58bJLpq3vWWCDe8l6V56Zpo1_VsHXuzRkWPsebFExXY85eQw2veSOmQMfJ0nKKB5S4_3sou/s320/Peru+2+013.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292796746858419170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUScJZ8Lzgq6_vS5dMGKXgf1rhsMah4yl8SOGwMmm4emfOq24MvNKe4BsMVTeTDAOSPp1S-8GX-pPOApgx865nTFv-ppUu1F_SqY9x6VpITtH3aFXP8EaAy5p_Iw8ynzTUJGIaMoy1/s320/Peru+2+012.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292797302499504178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQhUoKz9AZvT_CUMItCEF6FXragNUva6_K_k7Fvcz3uY-1_FU8q8cfHGcnqv6gDJFhTKmSVE-SUJlaSU-WeycRqLZcAc7CwxUOg1ni_4bB7_8MXlRPLX1fFlfMvfbffnmSBKan6TP/s320/Peru+2+008.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292798418322490210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh168TdI2gSIoqR9S-sJMKemnY_j4vuAGQIp9wc4MHWiYlqBWAzcdfofDkzBaZPDCdsE-wA99vARECbHwm9LKTtWCcJO3WB7UiW2GLJRT9km8FfLM_h5aadkUrewiCA4NyJdssmowBa/s320/Peru+2+006.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292800357122949346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLFBSEp99QWEeG1DOQx6llAJTOWG_ugIkYpiJzqyhFTrigzIEoOE84PJBo7hNuoDZANyy13h5IKzhBGBHsNCI-8pufJidOxIg2NeGHZE80PD6GFSMBF6wFXEJU9ZczEwTerkv2enI/s320/Peru+2+011.JPG" border="0" /><br />Recent archeological evidence now proves that the Incas were very much the ladies men that history has portrayed them to be. If you don't believe me, just check out the sign at the entrance of one of the sites. Sound it out . . . Wait for it . . . Yeah, that's right. I'm pretty sure this site was an ancient Incan gentlemen's club, but it may be years before we have enough additional archeological evidence to know for sure. </div><div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292801422312644818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1Upujzxzmn2_0RXDUdtXAIq_tRUc11xm-tcFTUTx823da9lvS3uwolVl5Q4T0SveU7cwjEG51kJNO3BdqomJ7FPat_Ii0zuKkNGZ-7WFPpP3CRabAOykz5OpOh3KRQ6sUlzFgWnS/s320/Peru+2+015.JPG" border="0" /> Finishing off the first day in Cusco, we ate in the city plaza at a restaurant called the Bagdad Cafe. Now, as a rule, I don't normally think of Iraqi food when I'm famished. Buzzards swarming the place typically don't add to the impression of high cuisine. But luckily this place served delicious local fare and as you can see from its sign below it was conveniently located very near to where we were standing. (According to some quick calculations on my iPhone, we were only 16.404199 feet away from our delicious meal).<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292802336837963346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8YBXSkTNLTotFj5BR_8p14AWN_zWQFS0ivZiKcCY6y49T4lC1kxI8ZXG4yjx2myx6BcNbnvhfz5O1mc78FAHF8IVodVBNUi3UZjMIuOyuWhrqreWip2X9DeCHpY5GfBwixSh-VpA/s320/Peru+2+016.JPG" border="0" /><br />A quick summary of the meal: Angelique had the lasagna. Several people ordered some variation of "lomo", which is sliced beef. Connie ordered a delightful pesto-basil ravioli dish (pictured below) and I, of course, ordered nachos. I took a great deal of criticism for that decision ("we are not in MEXICO! Order something Peruvian!"), but after sharing my nachos with the crowd it was agreed that my dish was the tastiest. The chips are actually large fried wontons and the guacamole was among the best I've ever had.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292804459111460002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRhwemWhUwiorpOGz0GNCsCEzZKgfRcV2Ye8Njt-TsEf6j7XiijcL5AddirqMgLJgZAZ5ThTE7QjBWsmgf3w3jIw_Ku6BWvuo4FWUBSv9FdW0bAarjb2scO0KunFK4BLaP7Y-IZCd/s320/Peru+2+018.JPG" border="0" /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292805873862099010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTs5L8v4XJqq-PYH332LdArcki-Sy5yhwgiUdHWp1kOQfkxufTcsPRjio2cIcgk4ITXUQgaU8H6493tWojyMIAU79DTvfYZIlms-5n-x74ZPgfNNyAFzqvJQHaoRFB7R4fdXpWz59/s320/Peru+2+017.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>On our walk back to the hotel (the El Puma Hotel - 3 Stars, by the way), we did what any Peruvian would do: we stopped to sample some antecuchos from a street vendor. Doug ordered two skewers of the meat on a stick, topped with a potato, and I assumed that they were both the same. It turns out that the one I didn't try was regular beef, and the one I did try was beef heart. And guess what? Beef heart on a stick, from a street vendor, in a remote mountain town, in a third world country, is delicious! Really.<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292806753719046002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimOE8caF-BkP_dlZQVr6x8Veh-3AAFMR_9WwYOAfvbhqSrmKyVSL3Xn50EHwwni65TIAtEv7TidnnnLd-Vd-52vvat48Ok7rfWW9g7Gx_NSSU9j17vlW_nGmAcOsBVSpa2uR_SaYF/s320/Peru+2+019.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>Day Three. </div><br /><div>Having conquered Cusco, we made our way further into the Andean highlands for some more adventure. Along the way we stopped at a fantastic mountain overlook of the Sacred Valley, where I snapped these shots. The alpaca's name is Juan Carlos, I learned (at the cost of 1 Sol). Not a bad name for an alpaca.<br /><br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292807957709700530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vyq4IvMUBlAHfEhcBjVznz6c-ij4GMMUT_ZzK8VEJ98PSo8pEybETDxmrFBeCd-dZ8sJrPSZck7UmwcGWNKNLuNN3zILR4LZ5giFREWFQx7rDS43_jYUKRkK14a081p0WA40RX8q/s320/Peru+2+021.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292808327438660818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQG8MYJjPGcEwF_Ki1oNTWVSlfkaEYEG23nltnPisqgr-pm4kNORaYR7f7OiXM_-mUfRxg-jSsz0PpY6fdphtuG3e-sR-HQOETyA35W1SMyQdjuANy_sUJllhd6hNL9xJXL80g_r5Q/s320/Peru+2+020.JPG" border="0" /><br />We stopped at a local market where Doug bought this steamed corn, which featured huge kernels and tasted pretty good even without any seasoning. It reminded me of the hominy they use to make grits in the south.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292809735848679490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYw2Jd_ChsPrd7EM4_RkA9MLKlszciEI95Fe1gqdKm3SfcHKx4_4dStCuVgiDq9j65Xwy_akCXYeBu1Wk2l_c63HryZOwym3tOJ6lDeWUjU8ix24SBrGRqXVS551mUsGaTN-o8NKVk/s320/Peru+2+022.JPG" border="0" />We then arrived at a roadside depot of sorts featuring a walking tour to show us the art of creating woven goods from alpaca hair. We started with a brief history lesson about the alpaca species and their varieties found in Peru. We then toured various alpaca and llama pens where we got to feed these dromedaries by hand. Naturally daring, I decided to take it to the next level to see if I could feed them mouth to mouth. Was that a good idea, considering the many, many, many bacteriological consequences that could arise? No, as I would later discover. But it seemed like a good idea at the time.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292812169290770578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFP3UrazC5pnq6EtCTatqnmwaosVXMHGRgksv-6R5E4bSnAnk_kniCHC7D45Rqg_9Mm73bt4ZKYTNdxll2011dgNUbKsN7d0DIlp2a40M57jeikkz_dOnq74VP1mYdbJSYTimST0xW/s320/Peru+2+026.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292812472695626306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfUPKJGCgAgGXbM8nHBFQLVoYa_dwWRodwumP2dNmvrWiccKX4ljNhXq1YwMVr4rCr8p8sQi5oFt_8W_9Ck5Nz5X8NrIUtsROWDjYo25kGnLb2sQTG76icIzzU2_j2Ajtrldu8JIzs/s320/Peru+2+027.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292813333134662546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-Yx6ER5H6q68HRq0CYTjVYWWY2AkN_w3NbiriPmv94NWoT9nSbz4SFqSlQrGsDqbmZciHjFilEeVDkwUi-eaOrUk7llvUBaRgu3IsAqifuu0wJ7zXfS2AmwA619jwjziBb1JakUF/s320/Peru+2+030.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292814178066106306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7yxGY9_loARX8YOrfo4m4YRVlDtA6O9SyqW12NgDcHw3N3I-yyYAsqaGnEoxn8LkkoaI5B3GwUSIbuliXacl5PjaLj1YQw8zRGPs1bzcecmKoMBubcpK7ZkATm3TfgfUxzN64-h4/s320/Peru+2+032.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292815103151586082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kIVNJqh_mG1jM72d0GcjVuZmNrllAESmL04U59JINgONAjuH7HUrj_CrE7TADWUFbaKQrF9u3qVkLMIyx9snj_jpJnAoNL9Xh0lVuET1sBxVsj6WMU7VEoCMAbFN72hE2iASNRl5/s320/Peru+2+037.JPG" border="0" /> </div><br /><div>After the alpacas are shorn, the skilled women of the Andes dye the wool and weave it into useful items of domesticity, all of which were for sale at astronomical prices in the gift shop at the end of the tour. I'm not sure how much this lady gets paid to weave for the tourists. Even the baby puts in an honest forty, but from the look on her face I don't think she's getting much of the rake.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293037940001812274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAAKn1p2rm8R_yZ_XmF8N8IPJwxo5ooJsAegaGTwYDQeqEECZRhOIfGsYFJk-azLDzwicUM_NZyKHZ6xnqipaPdwcUH0IODnhc9tEE9yrL9pFBb66-tFhBpjVaV-11sWnP0mNelUR/s320/Peru+2+039.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293038506028016242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJznyOdObjAbaQZKW3IYGZvYP9kJCVqZo9DU9-kuqV_cmAYAqj62SZy1IV2igs7jw2_SLtRdQRwYe1BKBKnjPFjRQTmyFqopJlXUNXM3LtWt0YpD-JxVZytDHOYTcV2oS73aWWRyr7/s320/Peru+2+040.JPG" border="0" />We stopped in the small town of Pisac (pronounced "pee sack") to tour some excellent ruins and well-preserved terracing along the Incan trail. Way-stations like these were transfer points for cargo hauled between Incan cities, as well as handoff points for "chasqui" runners who transferred messages between government rulers. I joked that the current NBC lineup might be energized by a new cop drama starring an Incan character running messages between the bad guys and the cops. It could be called "Chasqui and Hutch". Nobody but me thought it was funny, but it didn't stop me from acting out the role by running the Incan trail myself - at 11,000 feet. </div><div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293041099844879778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib8EnHOGBfsBFFXpej7lh9Pn8qCTO-T5py1niY1ncUWXMOdGC3BEbX61m4ZohjRvngv_t_QwaY0kbj5hqkTz0-1nIgmg0wARc85k5nDUsWh4Dr_Kc_mBzDzqZdVX__IGTCauqi7bum/s320/Peru+2+042.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293041772956528610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhplBf1wqBP30dy9smdE09QMQPbIav3pFqHS1AN85oHMaNil9zUDMydzPXC3kl-K0uE16hxIOG9SVabLJay9GGAO9ColJnlu6t_O-_kzLNbiXEdmjuSWf2e-uRVceyNXLKAKMBFIuLg/s320/Peru+2+044.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293042332019393794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKaI6EHXgl-PfBD3Hl7xR8wUdRduhbJ5gOfcfB888jNg4iLs2bqUF3647uGkfIDnsgpuFL4ZNO9AlTizMyD5PNLUJbnBc1ljZWtnYXTFlhcg8BWOx5WZ1JdlUb7DlJF0_Ngt3IQfq/s320/Peru+2+045.JPG" border="0" /><br />We made our way to Otallaytambo and checked in to a beautiful hotel that used to be a monastery. Unfortunately, at this point I suddenly got super sick - most likely a gift from the alpacas 6 hours earlier. I went from feeling fine to having a fever that had to have been over 100 degrees in about a half an hour. I didn't know if I'd be able to get out of bed the following morning to make the trip to Machu Picchu, but as you'll learn in my next post it takes a lot more than a severe, debilitating bacteria's assault on my whle body to keep me down.</div><div></div><div>More to come . . . </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Captain Emushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15637935356749550841noreply@blogger.com6