You may or may not have heard all the rumblings about Blu-Ray and its awesomeness over the last few years but if you didn't know, it's the next generation of technology that is supposed to supersede DVD. As a sign of maturity, I decided not to be an early adopter simply because I didn't want to pay for the privelege, and I also didn't want to be a guinea pig, however, I think that the prices here for players, HDTV's and media have reached an affordable point, so as you may already know, I have been buying a few movies here and there (for the average price of $15.79, thank you very much) and will eventually get a player to play them on. [Jenee thinks I am funny buying movies I can't play but, well... she has a point, but who cares?]
Anywhodle, finally got to watch a movie at my mate Rob's house and WOW. I was stunned, the quality and sound was much better than I was expecting. I could see detail like never before and it felt so lifelike.
Needless to say, I can hardly wait to get a player and enjoy some movies at home. Poor Jenee, if it's not one gadget with me, it's another. I am so blessed to have a patient wife.
Monday, August 24, 2009
My First Visit to NYC
So a few weeks ago, I got to visit the big apple for the first time, even if it was a 1 day ordeal. We flew to NYC to take part in a sponsors meeting and when I say we, I mean 10 post-doc's and research scientists. What was funny about the whole trip was the groop mentality, apparently we had to do everything together, almost as if there was some unsaid fear of separation.
Amsterdam and 79th St.
Anyway, my first impressions of New York City were made as we circled in to LaGuardia Airport and it quickly became evident how huge the city is. Once outside of the airport, and having dealt with the crazy taxi's, me second impressions were on how bad the roads were, how dirty everything seemed and how many people there were, I even convinced myself that I might get an asthma attack because of all this. I realised I was panicing in my own way, funnily enough, but I couldn't think what the reason was? Eventually I put it down to fear so I prayed, put it out of my mind and allowed the Lord to be in control.
St. John the Divine Cathedral in NYC
Anyway, apart from that, I soon started to warm up to the city, it's definately very cosmopolitan in the sense of how much variety there is in the people, the buildings, the resturants etc. I guess you get a very different sense of NYC when you are there compared to the movies. I did pay way too much for a tasteless, low carbon footprint hamburger, and I did ride the subway. That's a special experience. It's loud, extremely dirty, and a bit confusing. According to a Japanese friend, the Japanese subways are the polar opposite. Must go there one day.
Anyway, the trip was fun and fast, but I did manage to snap a few shots off. Hope you enjoy.
Amsterdam and 79th St.St. John the Divine Cathedral in NYCAnyway, apart from that, I soon started to warm up to the city, it's definately very cosmopolitan in the sense of how much variety there is in the people, the buildings, the resturants etc. I guess you get a very different sense of NYC when you are there compared to the movies. I did pay way too much for a tasteless, low carbon footprint hamburger, and I did ride the subway. That's a special experience. It's loud, extremely dirty, and a bit confusing. According to a Japanese friend, the Japanese subways are the polar opposite. Must go there one day.
Anyway, the trip was fun and fast, but I did manage to snap a few shots off. Hope you enjoy.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Special Marble
So I feel like since Nate is not going to have a computer for a few days, I would take up some blogging slack. What better post that one about our ridiculous cats.
Last night I wake up to the sound of a very sad meow. Still jumpy from the last distressed meow I heard from Sable when she was sick (keep in mind I know nothing about cats, and have never had indoor ones for sure!) I leap out of bed. I know you are asking yourself, "self, did she really leap?" Well the answer is YES! I flew out of bed tripping on the pillows that are thrown on the floor amongst clothes as well (we have been little sewing bunnies so the cleaning has fallen to the side, Yes mom, I clean my own house smarty pants!) and proceed to crawl down the stairs. Suddenly I see a white flash, well it really wasn't a flash but considering that Marble (I have no room to judge) has a few extra pounds on her it was as flashy as she is going to get, across the hallway into the living room. She looks up at me with her strangely small head and overly large eyes and you can see this sigh of relief. I proceed to carry the sweet obese cat upstairs and toss her on the foot of the bed where she of course wakes up Sable and force cuddles with her as my legs are sweating from the insane heat the two Yin and Yang cats put off. It is like a solar flare!
Here is my theory of what happened that night:
Our youngest cat may just be suffering from dimension and fell asleep in the sewing room. When she woke up at 2AM and looked around, no one was there and all was dark. Nothing looked familiar, because typically she is too scared to venture down the hallway much less into a new room and as I do, ( I relate allot with this cat) FREAKED HERSELF OUT! When I called her she was frozen, unsure if that was really her mom or someone impersonating her in order to lure her out of the bedroom where she would be given poisonous treats and offed. When she saw that it was in fact me, she was so relieved she ran with the intention of jumping into my arms, however half way there she realized, "there is no way I can get my feet off the ground," and proceeded to skid into the living room and wait to be picked up and carried to the bedroom where the rest of the family was unaware of her trial.
Like I said, I don't know much about cats, but that is all I can figure.
Last night I wake up to the sound of a very sad meow. Still jumpy from the last distressed meow I heard from Sable when she was sick (keep in mind I know nothing about cats, and have never had indoor ones for sure!) I leap out of bed. I know you are asking yourself, "self, did she really leap?" Well the answer is YES! I flew out of bed tripping on the pillows that are thrown on the floor amongst clothes as well (we have been little sewing bunnies so the cleaning has fallen to the side, Yes mom, I clean my own house smarty pants!) and proceed to crawl down the stairs. Suddenly I see a white flash, well it really wasn't a flash but considering that Marble (I have no room to judge) has a few extra pounds on her it was as flashy as she is going to get, across the hallway into the living room. She looks up at me with her strangely small head and overly large eyes and you can see this sigh of relief. I proceed to carry the sweet obese cat upstairs and toss her on the foot of the bed where she of course wakes up Sable and force cuddles with her as my legs are sweating from the insane heat the two Yin and Yang cats put off. It is like a solar flare!
Here is my theory of what happened that night:
Our youngest cat may just be suffering from dimension and fell asleep in the sewing room. When she woke up at 2AM and looked around, no one was there and all was dark. Nothing looked familiar, because typically she is too scared to venture down the hallway much less into a new room and as I do, ( I relate allot with this cat) FREAKED HERSELF OUT! When I called her she was frozen, unsure if that was really her mom or someone impersonating her in order to lure her out of the bedroom where she would be given poisonous treats and offed. When she saw that it was in fact me, she was so relieved she ran with the intention of jumping into my arms, however half way there she realized, "there is no way I can get my feet off the ground," and proceeded to skid into the living room and wait to be picked up and carried to the bedroom where the rest of the family was unaware of her trial.
Like I said, I don't know much about cats, but that is all I can figure.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Nate the Economist
I know I have a reputation for liking nice things, that's just who I am, but in the last few years, I have become more frugal and less spontaneous. I have discovered shops like Ross, where you can buy end of season clothes for 80% off and I have even learned to buy open box specials, but only if they actually a good deal.
Well, this morning I made a great find. On my way out of the apartment, I took the trash out and to my surprise someone had dumped a fairly expensive "Closetmaid" set of metal wire shelves. I put my bike down, and went in for the inspection. There was nothing wrong with them, except a little dirty. With an expression of glee, I picked them up and quickly walked back to the apartment, putting them inside so that no one could steal my new found treasure.
I don't know what I will use them for at the moment, but I have some ideas, Jenee and I are all about effective storage. The best thing was that when she got home, and saw them, she was just as excited about the find as I was. Ha ha ha...
Well, this morning I made a great find. On my way out of the apartment, I took the trash out and to my surprise someone had dumped a fairly expensive "Closetmaid" set of metal wire shelves. I put my bike down, and went in for the inspection. There was nothing wrong with them, except a little dirty. With an expression of glee, I picked them up and quickly walked back to the apartment, putting them inside so that no one could steal my new found treasure.
I don't know what I will use them for at the moment, but I have some ideas, Jenee and I are all about effective storage. The best thing was that when she got home, and saw them, she was just as excited about the find as I was. Ha ha ha...
Our First Date in a While
Saturday just gone was a beautiful day, the weather was just awesome, sunny, not too humid (i.e. you will still sweat, just not the moment you walk outside) and we started off the day by babysitting Rob and Sarah's little girl. Not ones to be idle, we decided that we'd have some fun and take Meredith with us while we ran errands. Meredith is like a magnet for attention because she is so stinking cute. For example while we were lining up to check out at Sam's, Meredith spotted the mascot sheep from Serta Matress Company. So, Jenee took her to hug the sheep, and dance with him, and get a protrait taken etc. While this was going on, I noticed that pretty much everyone within sight is looking at Meredith being cute and adorable. I am sure Mommy would approve :-)
After that, I decided that we were going on a date, so we dropped Meredith off to her mom, and headed for Alachua, the nearby town just north of us. Lunch was the first ticket, and we went to El Toro. SO GOOD. There aren't that many "real" Mexican places in Gainesville, let alone Florida. Moe's, Chipolte and On The Boarder don't count because they're too Americanized, not a bad thing, just not as authentic as some places.
Anyway, after eating our fill of delicous Mexican goodness, we drove down the street to a cute little quilting shop we had spotted when we were in Alachua for the 4th of July. Jenee's eye's lit up, my eye's lit up, and we spend a good 40 minutes in there. There was fabric, patterns, bits and pieces everywhere. Jenee even got a free lesson from the owner while we were there. Needless to say, I think we have found a new favorite thing to do on Saturday afternoons.
After that, I decided that we were going on a date, so we dropped Meredith off to her mom, and headed for Alachua, the nearby town just north of us. Lunch was the first ticket, and we went to El Toro. SO GOOD. There aren't that many "real" Mexican places in Gainesville, let alone Florida. Moe's, Chipolte and On The Boarder don't count because they're too Americanized, not a bad thing, just not as authentic as some places.
Anyway, after eating our fill of delicous Mexican goodness, we drove down the street to a cute little quilting shop we had spotted when we were in Alachua for the 4th of July. Jenee's eye's lit up, my eye's lit up, and we spend a good 40 minutes in there. There was fabric, patterns, bits and pieces everywhere. Jenee even got a free lesson from the owner while we were there. Needless to say, I think we have found a new favorite thing to do on Saturday afternoons.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
This is Florida
Last night I was at Rob and Sarah's playing with Rob's new home theater and it started raining. Nothing unusual, rains all the time. I waited the storm out and at about 9:30 announced my departure, got on my bike and proceeded to ride home. By the time I made it off their street, it started to rain lightly, by the time I made it to the main street joining their place and ours, it was POURING. I put the pedal to the metal and rode hard and fast, in the dark, but still, I got home completely saturated.
The funny part was the whole way home, all I could hear was "Ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake"etc...
Stupid rainy season...
The funny part was the whole way home, all I could hear was "Ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake"etc...
Stupid rainy season...
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Ice Cream and Cake
I know this is an annoying add, but every morning I see it while checking the weather channel, it makes me laugh... watch at your own risk, it will be in your head all day.
Ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake, ice cream and cake, do the ice cream and cake...
What A Weekend
For a few months now we have been planning on having Cortney and Meagan, Jenee's girlfriends, come and spend a weekend with us, and this last weekend was it. Jenee did all the planning be it for activities, meals, hotels, you name it. The first plan was after picking them up from the airport, we were going to drive down to Cocoa Beach and spend the following day enjoying the sun. And that's what we did, we picked them up on Wednesday night and made our way along 527 to Cocoa. About 20 minutes from the airport I looked down at my gauges and made an alarming discovery, we were sitting on reserve. Not wanting to alarm anyone I kept it to myself. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, however, the stretch of road between Orlando International and Cocoa Beach is pretty much unpopulated until you get to the ocean, thus no fuel stations. With some praying and careful driving we made it to Cocoa and filled our 16 gallon tank with 16.5 gallons. We were running on vapors...
After a good night's sleep we hit the main strip at Cocoa and visited the famous Ron Jon's surf shop. After a bit of shopping we all agreed to hit the beach and it was awesome. Beautiful sand, gentle surf and hot sun. The surf was so much fun that we all agreed to go back and get a body board to ride the waves. I volunteered and with in a few minutes I had made the round trip and was walking down the beach with our new board. Excited, I tore the wrapping off and ran into the water with out much thought... until 10 minutes later I felt something in my pocket that I really wish I hadn't. It was the car keys. I took them out, showed Jenee and made the swim/walk of shame to the beach to try and fix what I had done. I rinsed them with fresh water and left them to dry. At the end of the day, we made our way back to the car to head home and guess what: the key would open the door but not the immobilizer. We tried everything we could, had Jenee's dad and uncle offering advice over the phone, tried jump starting and even push starting with no luck. By the end of all the drama which is too much to write here, we decided to stay the night again as the only way we were going to get the car started was to rent a car, drive the 200+ miles back to Gainesville, get the spare key, then drive back to Cocoa, get our car and drive back to Gainesville. Well that plan was foiled because between the Cruiseliners, the Shuttle landing happening and Disney, there wasn't an available rental car in a 100 mile radius.
Not knowing what to do, we went to dinner where we had an amazing BBQ chicken pizza and then walked back to the car to get our luggage and in our wisdom (or lack of) decided that the hotel wasn't that far and proceeded to walk the entire way towing our luggage. Turned out, we walked 2 miles in swealtering heat, in flip-flops when we could have caught the bus for $1.25. That night in the hotel, I prayed that God would take control of the situation and either provide a rental car or someone in Gainesville who could come and get us, or anything. I also had bought some isopropanol to clean the key with in the hope that it may help. I left the key completely disassembled overnight to dry. The following morning we got ourselves together and this time caught the bus back to where the car was. I tried the button, no sound. I told Jenee that I may as well try the ignition just in case and would you believe it, the car started. There was much celebration and high-5's in the carpark where a local fast food worker was watching with amazement at these wierd people.
We piled in the car, drove back to the hotel, left the car running, got our stuff and hit the road for Gainesville. God was so good to us, he was in control the whole time. He had orchestrated the fuel situation two nights before so that we'd have a full tank to make it home with negating the need to turn the car off and refuel, he left just enough charge in the car key battery to turn the immobilizer off (the battery had leaked its contents everywhere after going for a swim) and he provided a smooth ride home with little to no stops so I didn't run the risk of stalling the car. He is so good.
The rest of the vacation went well. We also went to St. Augustine for more surfing, and later Cedar Key. Now, I have to make a confession. I know better than to ride a body board with out a rash vest but did I do it anyway? yes... Did I ware skin off? yes... Did I do it at Cocoa and then at St. Augustine? yes... Am I sorry I did that? yes... lol
Apart from a little drama, we had a great time with Cort and Meg. Can't wait for them to come back.
After a good night's sleep we hit the main strip at Cocoa and visited the famous Ron Jon's surf shop. After a bit of shopping we all agreed to hit the beach and it was awesome. Beautiful sand, gentle surf and hot sun. The surf was so much fun that we all agreed to go back and get a body board to ride the waves. I volunteered and with in a few minutes I had made the round trip and was walking down the beach with our new board. Excited, I tore the wrapping off and ran into the water with out much thought... until 10 minutes later I felt something in my pocket that I really wish I hadn't. It was the car keys. I took them out, showed Jenee and made the swim/walk of shame to the beach to try and fix what I had done. I rinsed them with fresh water and left them to dry. At the end of the day, we made our way back to the car to head home and guess what: the key would open the door but not the immobilizer. We tried everything we could, had Jenee's dad and uncle offering advice over the phone, tried jump starting and even push starting with no luck. By the end of all the drama which is too much to write here, we decided to stay the night again as the only way we were going to get the car started was to rent a car, drive the 200+ miles back to Gainesville, get the spare key, then drive back to Cocoa, get our car and drive back to Gainesville. Well that plan was foiled because between the Cruiseliners, the Shuttle landing happening and Disney, there wasn't an available rental car in a 100 mile radius.
Not knowing what to do, we went to dinner where we had an amazing BBQ chicken pizza and then walked back to the car to get our luggage and in our wisdom (or lack of) decided that the hotel wasn't that far and proceeded to walk the entire way towing our luggage. Turned out, we walked 2 miles in swealtering heat, in flip-flops when we could have caught the bus for $1.25. That night in the hotel, I prayed that God would take control of the situation and either provide a rental car or someone in Gainesville who could come and get us, or anything. I also had bought some isopropanol to clean the key with in the hope that it may help. I left the key completely disassembled overnight to dry. The following morning we got ourselves together and this time caught the bus back to where the car was. I tried the button, no sound. I told Jenee that I may as well try the ignition just in case and would you believe it, the car started. There was much celebration and high-5's in the carpark where a local fast food worker was watching with amazement at these wierd people.
We piled in the car, drove back to the hotel, left the car running, got our stuff and hit the road for Gainesville. God was so good to us, he was in control the whole time. He had orchestrated the fuel situation two nights before so that we'd have a full tank to make it home with negating the need to turn the car off and refuel, he left just enough charge in the car key battery to turn the immobilizer off (the battery had leaked its contents everywhere after going for a swim) and he provided a smooth ride home with little to no stops so I didn't run the risk of stalling the car. He is so good.
The rest of the vacation went well. We also went to St. Augustine for more surfing, and later Cedar Key. Now, I have to make a confession. I know better than to ride a body board with out a rash vest but did I do it anyway? yes... Did I ware skin off? yes... Did I do it at Cocoa and then at St. Augustine? yes... Am I sorry I did that? yes... lol
Apart from a little drama, we had a great time with Cort and Meg. Can't wait for them to come back.
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