Life with Roxy

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last year for Spring Break we took a road trip down to North Carolina and had so much fun we decided to do it again and this time we made it all the way to Savannah, GA. On the way down we stopped in Virginia to visit cousins Sandy and Rob and their two little ones, Cory and Kyle. Roxy came along as far as Virginia and then spent the middle of the week with Sandy and Rob's two basset hounds (romping around their 10 acres of land) and then we picked her up on the way back north.

We ended up spending two nights in Savannah, a night in Charleston and a night in Hilton Head. We enjoyed some great southern food and wonderful weather in the high 70's most of the trip. Here are a few photos from along the way.

Here's a fountain in Savannah dyed green for St. Patrick's day.

Another fountain in one of Savannah's many squares.A sight along the waterfront.

This is what you do in Myrtle Beach - mini golf.

Here's where you hang out when not mini-golfing - the beach.

This is along the waterfront in Charleston, SC, we even saw dolphins right off this pier!
This was our one alligator sighting. It was at a historic plantation outside Charleston.
More wildlife at the plantation.
Here I am having a good time on Hilton Head Island.
Here are a couple scenes from a fascinating place right outside Savannah, the Bonaventure Cemetery.

Mele Kalikimaka and Hau Oli Makahiki Hou

2011-01-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Maui!!!

We snorkled all around this rock--named Shark Fin (but didn't see any sharks)

A WWII Liberty ship made of concrete on "shipwreck beach" on Lanai

New Year's Eve

The sunrise on top of Haleakala Volcano

The Venus Pool on the Road To Hana

This is the oldest temple in all the Hawaiian islands

Some waterfalls along the Hana Highway

A curious visitor at the Garden of Eden (botanical gardens)

The rain forest on the way to Hana

Who turned out the lights?

2010-12-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

There are only a couple ways to fly through six time zones in four hours. You either need a very fast plane or you have to fly very far north to where the time zones get a bit ... narrower. In our case we flew to 66 degrees North, to Iceland.

This was a surprise birthday present to me from Liz. I left work on a Thursday and was instructed to meet her at South Station. Now from South Station you can get to restaurants, the train station or the airport so I really had no idea what to expect, but when I arrived Liz had our bags packed and our passports at the ready for a quick overnight flight to Reykjavik. We left around 8 PM, flew for four hours and arrived at the Keflavik airport around 6 AM. For the next few days we wandered around and toured the southwest corner of a truly fascinating country. Despite the darkness (the sun's only up about 5 hours a day during the winter) it was an incredible trip. I can't wait to go back and see more.

City Hall in Reykjavik

This church was huge and took 40 years to build--an impressive feat for a country of only 300,000 people.

The first light of the sunrise

This is where the American and European tectonic plates are separating and where the annual viking parliamentary meetings were held.

A frozen river

The sun about to rise at 11 AM.

Gulfoss waterfalls

Strokkur geyser (goes every 4 minutes!)

These were everywhere

Otherworldly terrain.

The Blue Lagoon. Geothermal spas where we swam and soaked in the various rejuvenating minerals (I need those now that I'm so old).

The water was 99 degrees and that's a swim-up bar in the middle there.

Special thanks to Liz for planning such a wonderful trip!

Kill your television

2010-06-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever watched one of your favorite television shows only to get to the series finale, realize it's over and then feel like you've lost a loved-one forever? It was sad when we got to the end of The West Wing (the greatest television show ever produced) but we just watched the worst ending for a television show ever: NBC's Las Vegas.

I still highly recommend Las Vegas to those who've never seen it. It wasn't intelligent TV like West Wing but every episode was creative and exciting, the characters were great and the scenes were spectacular. Las Vegas was a big budget television production, which in the end, was probably its downfall. I finally broke down and bought season five after giving up on having it come available to watch instantly on Netflix and also after mentally preparing myself for Tom Selleck to replace James Caan as top dog at the Montecito.

Thanks to the Hollywood writers' strike the series ended several episodes short of where it was intended to. They knew it was close to the end so instead of maintaining their enormous studio set throughout the strike they decided to use that time to shut it down. And no, the series didn't just end after a random mid-season episode, it ended after part 1 of a "to be continued ..." episode. HOW COULD THEY DO THAT?! So, the entire thing ends with a main character about to die during child birth and a bunch of other unresolved issues and all we have to go on is Gary Scott Thompson's (the series creator) twitter posts about how the final few episodes would have played out. Ahhh!

Going back to Cali

2010-06-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Liz and I spent Memorial Day weekend in California where she performed a wonderful wedding (for our Catholic friends!) at a beautiful winery in the hills near Saratoga. We stayed in Cupertino but traveled over to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz and then spent Sunday driving up to Sonoma and Napa for some wine tasting. Here are some of the highlights.

The view from where the wedding was.

Santa Cruz

Wine Tasting

Our rental car!

Spring Break Road Trip

2010-04-18T08:44:00.001-07:00

We had big plans for Spring Break this year but after they all fell through (mostly due to high airfare costs which we weren't willing to pay) we decided to take a spontaneous road trip. We set out with no specific plan and not a single reservation. Liz was a little nervous about this as she's an organized planner by nature but other than a smelly hotel room the first night everything turned out great. Roxy came along as she's an excellent car rider and we had very few issues finding hotels she was welcomed at (note, we stayed at a Comfort Inn and a Country Inn and Suites but we found La Quinta to be the best value overall and stayed at a couple along the way).

Here are some pictures and notes of our week-long journey.

First Stop: Washington, D.C. where we toured the mall and then had dinner at a great Thai restaurant in Georgetown with friend Rob who recently moved there to work in the admissions office at the University.
We stayed that first night after leaving D.C. in northern Virginia and then drove down through Virginia Beach (a lot like Seaside, OR but bigger) and Norfolk. We found Norfolk very interesting and toured the USS Wisconsin and a fascinating memorial to Douglas McArthur in the old city hall (also now his tomb).
From there we drove down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. If you're not familiar with this area it's a thin strip of land just off shore with miles of beaches, beach houses and little shops and restaurants. We stayed near Kitty Hawk where we walked on the beach and then toured the Wright Bros. museum the next morning.
Above is a picture of the marker where the Wright Flier first took off. You can see the markers in the background showing how far each of their first four attempts reached. The fourth is quite a ways in the distance. Below is the nearby hilltop memorial.
There is even a full size metal replica you can climb aboard to get a sense of what it might have been like.
After leaving the Outer Banks we drove all the way across North Carolina, stopping at Duke University to tour the gardens and Cathedral and then staying the night near Winston-Salem. Our destination was Asheville where we toured the largest house in America. The Biltmore estate was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II (grandson of "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt) and is 175,000 square feet (250 rooms).

One of the highlights of the estate and grounds were the extensive greenhouses. There were several enormous spaces all connected together and each distinguished by a different temperature range or humidity level. Though not much was blooming in the Frederick Law Olmsted designed gardens the greenhouses were full of life and color.

Before leaving Asheville we stopped at the Tupelo Honey Cafe for fried green tomatoes and grits, catfish and fried chicken. After leaving Biltmore we stopped at a couple wineries, our favorite of which was called Veritas and was located in Virginia. Of course we brought quite a few bottles back with us (another advantage of not traveling by air). Also in Virginia we stopped at another of America's great estates, Monticello. It took Thomas Jefferson 40 years to complete and the thought and ingenuity that went into the house is still evident today.

Also on our way back North we drove 63 miles of the Skyline Parkway Drive in Shenandoah. It's slow driving as the speed limit is 35 and you're constantly stopping or slowing down for deer near, or often in, the roadway. We counted 25 deer while on this road.

Though Roxy probably spent more time in the car than she'd like I hope she had fun too. Here she is trying to smell the early spring mountain air.

Happy as a clam.

Netflix Madness

2010-03-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

We've watched quite a few movies on Netflix recently so I thought I'd share what we liked and what we didn't.

2 thumbs up!

Away We Go - I usually don't like artsy movies but this was really good. It was a good story with some humorous moments and a good sound track.

Star Trek - A great prequel that Liz and I both really liked. The characters and the plot were well done. I'd definitely watch this again.

Thank You For Smoking - This is one that we got and then it sat around for a while before we were interested in watching it but I'm glad we did. It's a satirical comedy about the tobacco industry and the casting was great.

The Hangover - I thought I was going to hate this movie but it actually turned out to be great. We find ourselves repeating some of the one-liners from time to time. "I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack ..."

Iron Man - This was another movie I had no intention of seeing but I kept hearing people mention how great it was so thought I'd give it a try. And it was awesome! There's a sequel coming out in May so if you haven't seen the first one see it soon.

1 thumb up.

The Good Shepherd - A somewhat true story about the early days of the CIA. A good cast but hard to follow and loose plot (but then that's the point of a movie about the CIA right?).

Up - Not the best animated film ever but definitely had some hilarious moments. The graphics were good, as all Pixar films are.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - This was good, though slightly weird, if you can get over the improbable basis of someone aging backwards.

No thumbs up :(

The Lion, The Witch an the Wardrobe - This could have been good but it wasn't. The acting was bad (which I don't usually notice) and it seemed pretty low budget.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - I liked the first two movies in this series quite a bit but this one, despite the addition of Jet Li, just seemed like the studio trying to milk some more money out of the first two movies. Save yourself the disappointment and just watch The Mummy again.

The Transporter - I'd seen this before but couldn't remember much about it. Now I know why--it wasn't that memorable. The acting's not that good nor are the action sequences. I saw part of the second one on TV the other day and it seems to be a little better (probably had a higher budget after the first one did better than expected).

Recent Happenings

2009-12-28T15:34:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our recent trips to Newport, RI (in November) and New York, NY (for my birthday in December).

Some scenes from our walk along the famous cliff walk in Newport

Liz's elementary school in Greenwich Village

Holiday decorations around Rockefeller Center

A Very "Special" Election

2009-12-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we had the primary for a special election here to fill the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat in the US Senate. I did my part and cast my vote though very few people did as it wasn't much of a race (Martha Coakley easily won her spot on the democratic ticket). As I reflected on this most recent voting experience I thought about why people are so uninterested in the process and it wasn't hard to find the reasons.

Our polling place is very conveniently located just around the corner from our place. It's in a not-so-nice nursing home that incidentally is built on the spot where the home of Helen Keller used to stand. There are the remnants of an ancient, yet finely crafted wrought iron fence that probably belonged to the original house but back to my original point. The whole experience was rather depressing. I was the only person voting at the time I stopped by and apart from the poll workers checking people in an out the only other people around were a couple of the nursing home residents who came to sit on a bench in the hallway to watch people come by and the most bored looking police officer sitting at a table in the back of the room reading a newspaper.

I thought about why it's so difficult to get young adults to vote and realized that this experience is part of the reason why. Whether you're in school or have just finished with school the last thing you want to do is drag yourself down to the local nursing home and fill out what's basically another scantron test. Maybe the answer is another format (and venue). What if instead of scantron forms you threw darts to pop balloons with the name of your candidate written on them, or you shot a squirt gun into the mouth of a clown that looked like who you wanted to vote for, or any other sort of carnival game. Anyway, I'm not sure what the answer is (beyond the obvious goal of making people more engaged in politics and elections) but I know that filling out little bubbles in a tiny booth in a nursing home isn't an appealing way to attract voters.

Snowed in

2009-12-20T16:58:00.001-08:00

Today we woke up to several inches of snow here in Cambridge and it continued to snow all day long. It finally let up late this afternoon so hopefully the commute to work tomorrow will be manageable. Roxy thoroughly enjoyed romping around outside today while I shoveled the car out. She doesn't ever seem to get cold and could probably lay in the snow for hours and be perfectly content.

A Return to the Rose Bowl !!!

2009-12-05T05:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true, we've got a reason to celebrate because the Oregon Ducks are headed to the Rose Bowl. After a 37-33 win in the civil war game over the Oregon State Beavers the Ducks finished their season with a 10-2 record. They will face Ohio State in Pasadena on New Year's day.

New England "Mountain" Cimbing

2009-10-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a family trek up Mount Watatic. It is a 1,832 foot peak at the southern end of the Wapack range on the MA/NH border. I've been excited to do some backpacking next spring and have been getting some of my gear together so this was a good hike to do some testing (we boiled some water on the butane stove at the summit for hot chocolate and filtered some water using a new filter from a mountain stream on the way back down). It was a steep climb on a cold day but we were rewarded with splendid views and a nice break spent sitting in a grassy area we found just short of the peak. Roxy also has a backpack and it was her first time using it--it didn't slow her down at all!

The only wildlife not scared away by Roxy
At the summit
Making the hot chocolate to warm back up
Ah, life is good

Oregon

2009-10-18T17:08:00.001-07:00

Well we had a wonderful trip to Oregon to visit family and friends. We were able to spend time in Eugene, Portland, Cannon Beach and Monroe and Bellevue, WA. Here are a few photos.

Newport, OR
Cannon Beach, OR

This is the co-housing place that Liz's parents are moving to (still under construction in these pics). You can learn more about it here.
It even has a rooftop hot tub!

New England Clam Bake

2009-09-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

After living in New England for more than three years and never having been to a clam bake it was about time. And it couldn't have been for a better reason. Our good friends Leanne and Bill are getting married today and for the rehearsal dinner last night they hosted a clam bake in a beautiful yet rustic barn up in Topsfield, MA.

Here's what I ate, not being much of a fan for clams, but I heartily enjoyed the lobster and the first course of chowder and green salad (not pictured).

This is the barn.

And here's the gang figuring out how to get all the good meat out of the lobsters.

For Your Entertainment

2009-08-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a little quiz to test your cinematic knowledge. Can you name these movie quotes? Here's a hint, these movies span from the 1930's to the current decade and are from a variety of genres. Good luck!

1. Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.

2. Yes, the actual 10 Commandments, the original stone tablets that Moses came down out of Mount Horeb and smashed if you believe in that sort of thing. Didn't you guys ever go to Sunday School? Look, the Hebrews took the broken pieces and put them into the Ark. When they settled in Cainan they put the Ark in a place called The Temple of Solomon where it stayed for many years. 'Till all of the sudden, whoosh, it was gone.

3. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death.

4. Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerve-hurter.

5. I'm sure that in 1985 plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955 it's a little hard to come by.

6. I'm telling you this guy is protected from up on high by the Prince of Darkness.

7. I run my unit how I run my unit. You want to investigate me, roll the dice and take your chances. I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4000 Cubans who are trained to kill me, so don't think for one second that you can come down here, flash your badge, and make me nervous.

Extra points if you can name these last three:

8. Well, I guess the gentlemen are in a pretty tall hurry to get me out of here. The way the evidence has piled up against me, I can't say I blame them much. And I'm quite willing to go, sir, when they vote it that way - but before that happens I've got a few things I want to say to this body. I tried to say them once before, and I got stopped colder than a mackerel. Well, I'd like to get them said this time, sir. And as a matter of fact, I'm not going to leave this body until I do get them said.

9. Come on, *all* the long distance lines are down? What about the satellite? Is it snowing in space? Don't you have some kind of a line that you keep open for emergencies or for celebrities? I'm both. I'm a celebrity in an emergency.

10. Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage, and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and caution.

The Russian Icon Museum

2009-08-22T16:42:00.001-07:00

So, what else would we be doing on a Saturday afternoon in the summer other than visiting our local museum of Russian Icons. Okay, so it's a little random, I know, but we heard about this place a while ago (I'm not sure how) in Clinton, MA and figured today would be a good day to drive out there to check it out. And we're glad we did. The museum is the largest of its kind in North America and has a collection of around 370 icons. You can visit the museum online here.

We have an icon in our house of Saint Euphrosynus who is the patron saint of cooking:

And Liz has an icon in her office at the church. It looks like this:

They are such an interesting art form and part of church history. It was fascinating to see so many in one place and to learn about the various styles. I highly recommend stopping by this museum if you're ever out by Clinton, MA.

Here's a picture of the museum, it's no hole-in-the-wall:

A Khmu picnic

2009-07-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

I am quickly learning that as the spouse of a pastor I get to attend all sorts of events that I wouldn't normally go to and this weekend was no exception. Last night we attended the monthly Oasis Coffee House performance at 1st Pres., Waltham. It's part of the mission of this church to support the arts (and the hope is that the program will grow to support the mission of the church as well). We heard two folk/blues singers, one of whom, Danielle Miraglia, was particularly good. She was an excellent guitar player, singer and songwriter with a surprising bluesy voice.

Today, we drove out to Cochicuate State Park, about a half hour west of Boston for the annual Khmu picnic. There are a few members of Liz's church that are of the Khmu ethinic group and today I learned about their fascinating and difficult history since the Vietnam war. The Khmu are the native ethnic people of Laos but have faced extreme discrimination by the Laotian's which drove many of them to seek refuge in other countries like Thailand and the United States. Many of the Khmu in the Boston area came to the states in the 1980's and 90's. Today they seem to be thriving here and they get together once a year for a huge picnic where they cook amazing food. We had spicy noodles, all sorts of BBQ'd meats (Liz accidentally ate chicken liver), fried rice,
sticky rice and spicy chicken in lettuce wraps. Here are some pictures of the get together and this beautiful park.

It's official

2009-07-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Now preaching at a church near you ...

June Happenings

2009-06-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated the blog so here's a run down on what we've been up to this past month.

A couple weeks ago we marched in the Boston Pride Parade with Liz's new church. It was amazing to see the reaction of people in the crowd when they saw a pastor in a clerical collar marching in the parade. Liz carried on a Smith family tradition by carrying a "Choose Love" sign. It's a message that works for pretty much any occasion.

Last weekend we took a trip to Owatonna, Minnesota for Ryan and Mariah's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony at Mariah's church and reception at a nearby golf course.

Touring the modern art of Minneapolis.
Interactive Art?
This afternoon will be Liz's Installation at First Presbyterian Church, Waltham so more to come on that soon ...

Rev. Liz, ad gradum Divinitatis Magistri

2009-06-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true, when my wife preaches to me I have to listen to her now. On Thursday, June 4th Liz earned her Master of Divinity (M. Div.) and today, Saturday, June 6th she was ordained as a minister of the word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA. She will go on to begin a position as co-paster at the First Presbyterian Church of Waltham, MA beginning in early July.

The graduation ceremony was held at the Harvard Memorial Church and was followed by a very nice luncheon on the lawn at Andover Hall. The ordination was held at Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church where Liz worked during her third year of divinity school. We had many friends and family at both events and enjoyed getting the chance to celebrate with them all. Here are some pictures of the events.

Graduation

Dean Graham awarding Liz her degree

Angels Mariah and Liz (see them featured also in the Boston Herald)
Michael, Leanne, Mariah, Anna, Liz and Rob

Ordination

Liz doing her first communion

Augustus, Ann, Rob, Liz, Karl, Dudley and Burns
Ann from Presbytary of the Cascades
Rob, Liz's new co-pastor

Congratulations Liz !!!

It Was 20 Years Ago Today that Sgt. Pepper Taught the Band to Play

2009-06-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

On June 4th, 1989, a million people were cleared out of Tienanmen Square by Chinese army tanks. I found it interesting, though not surprising, to read in the past week's news coverage that the Chinese youth of today have little knowledge of this event because the media was so restricted at the time of the event and continues to be restricted to this day. Despite initial reports from the Chinese Red Cross that 2,600 people were killed they now deny ever issuing those reports and the Chinese government put the official death toll at 241.

This week, websites, news agencies and other media outlets in China have been blocked, shut down, censored and otherwise restricted from making any mention of Tienanmen square and the protests that occurred there. Vocal critics deemed likely to make note of these events have been preemptively placed under house arrest.

Unfortunately foreign governments and political leaders will make no protests of their own because the world needs China to help with growing nuclear threats from N. Korea and Iran and companies that do business in China (even media and internet service providers that will be involuntarily censored) will say nothing because they have to keep Chinese government officials happy in the hopes that they can expand into China's ever-growing, ever-strengthening market.

So, until Chinese media and Chinese citizens gain the right to free speech the rest of the world has to do our part in remembering, and talking about, these events and hoping that they will one day be seen as pivotal moments in the path to obtaining the basic human rights and freedoms that many non-Chinese citizens enjoy today.

Day Trip to Rockport

2009-05-23T15:04:00.001-07:00

Today Liz and I took a trip with friends Andrew and Josh up to Rockport, Massachusetts. It's about an hour drive and the seaside town has lots of little shops, restaurants and a picturesque harbor and jetty. Here are some pictures. The red house is supposedly the most often painted building in America.

Boston Harbor Sailing

2009-05-17T04:50:00.000-07:00

I finally made it back out onto the water after a couple weeks off. Yesterday Liz, Mariah, Ryan and I went sailing with a group of people out into Boston Harbor and to the harbor islands in the hopes of seeing the Volvo racing boats set out for Ireland. We passed by them at the docks as we sailed out of the harbor but by the time of their scheduled 1 o'clock start a dense fog rolled in and we couldn't see a thing. Before the fog arrived we'd sailed all the way to Spectacle Island and tried to dock to use the facilities but they turned us away as they didn't allow any boat without a motor into their harbor. On this map (click on it to enlarge) we sailed from the very top left where it says Boston (we were towed out of the Charles River through the locks) out to spectacle island just left of the center of the map.
However, when the fog settled in shortly after we departed the island on our way back to see the start of the race we decided to turn back to the island in the hope that they might be a little more hospitipal, and they were. We docked and explored the visitors center and the island, which was beautiful by any standards but especially so considering it's made up primarily of land fill. You'd never know it from the flowers, grassy areas with picknic benches and variety of bird species. The island also has a ferry dock and visitors' center that uses solar energy, radiant heat and a no-chemical, no-water, composting sewer system.

The fog lifted mid afternoon and we sailed back to Boston on a broad reach until the wind died around the airport where they tied us all back up and towed us through the locks back to Community Boating.

Here's our boat safely moored in the marina at Spectacle Island

Here are some of the other boats in our group anchoring in the fog.

Not sure why I'm sticking my tongue out (Spectacle Island in the background after the fog lifted).
The afternoon sail home.
Here's Liz having a good time while we're towed around in circles waiting for a drawbridge to open (locks in the background).

2009-05-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well this past weekend I did something I'd been thinking about doing for a while. I got my motorcycle license! I took a two day beginner rider course through the Massachusetts Rider Education Program (conducted by Motorcycle Safety Foundation certified instructors) and a company called Ironstone Ventures. The course was held at Bunker Hill Community College (yes, where Good Will Hunting was filmed). It was two days split between classroom work and riding drills where I learned all the basics like shifting, balancing, turning, starting and stopping as well as some things like emergency breaking in corners, driving over obstacles (we drove over 2x4's), swerving and quick stopping. I'm not sure if I'll be getting a bike any time soon but hopefully I can ride with some of you guys back in Oregon next time I'm out for a visit.

The Sheepfold

2009-04-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the beautiful weather today and took Roxy to meet some friends at the Middlesex Fells Sheepfold. It's a giant field near a reservoir with some hiking and biking trails and lots of people take their dogs to romp around in the field together. Roxy had been exhibiting some signs of cabin fever so we were overdue for some outdoor exercise and general mayhem.

Here's the main part of the field (note: you can click on any of the pics on this site to view them full size).

Mariah, Roxy and Liz heading towards the hiking trails.

If there's water (or better yet, MUD) around, Roxy will find it.

I don't think she knows how to swim but she loves to wade. Unfortunately this was the cleanest water she got into so she earned herself a bath when we got home.

Spring has definitely arrived!

It's Earth Day

2009-04-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

I wanted to title this post "Happy Earth Day!" but after reading the paper today it's not that happy. Here are a few facts published in today's Metro:

-There are 16,928 animal species (that we know about) in danger of extinction.

-The rate of extinction with humans on the planet is 1,000 to 10,000 times faster than the natural rate.

-The Great Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean (primarily plastic debris) is now three times larger than Spain and Portugal combined. EVERY square mile of ocean is now believed to contain 46,000 pieces of floating garbage.

-Plastic NEVER biodegrades. It photodegredates meaning it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic, but it will always be plastic.

-Tigers now occupy just 7 percent of their natural habitat.

-There are only 4 northern white rhino's left (and nobody's seen them since 2006).

It's pretty but it's full of plastic.

So, why did I bother to depress everyone with these sad statistics? IT IS NOT TOO LATE!!! All of the following suggestions (borrowed from Green America, Metro, We Can Solve It and my own head) can help preserve and even improve our environment. Some of them might seem small but if everyone does them they'll really add up.

-Don't buy: styrofoam cups, bleached coffee filters and paper towels, teak and mahogany, chemical pesticides and herbicides, conventional household cleaners, toys made with PVC plastic, plastic forks and spoons, farm raised salmon and rayon.

-Do buy Organic, LOCAL and in-season fruits and vegetables, No-VOC paint, paper products with a high post-consumer recycled content, compact fluorescent light bulbs, Energy Star appliances.

-Combine several destinations into one trip so you drive less, or better yet take public transportation.

-Turn off lights and unplug appliances and other electronic devices when not in use. Turn down your heat and air conditioning. Buy electricity from renewable resources if it's available from your utilities company. Wash your clothes in cold water.

-Stop buying things you don't need and don't support these companies: Wal-Mart, Exxon-Mobile, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Monsanto, General Motors, Dominion, Citigroup, Shell Petroleum, McDonald's.

-Join me, Al Gore and 2,203,717 other people in supporting the We Can Solve It campaign. Be sure to sign the petition to Repower America.

Here's a picture I took of the jungle--hopefully a site we can preserve for future generations.

100 Site Visits!!!

2009-04-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well this blog just received its 100th site visit! Okay so at least 50 of them were probably me updating and checking the site for comments and visits. My site counter is supposed to ignore my own clicks but I'm not sure if it's working or not. Anyway we've reached over 250 individual hits and 100 visits (when someone clicks on the site, then clicks a link and returns or views multiple pages). I hope you all continue to read and enjoy my ramblings.

A Saturday Drive

2009-04-13T17:21:00.001-07:00

Liz and I (and Roxy) drove to Marblehead last Saturday. It's a nice little town just 17 miles north of us. There is an island connected to the mainland by a bridge that has beautiful houses and views all the way around with a little park at the north end complete with a lighthouse. I'd love to go back later in the summer when it's warmer and the harbor will be filled with boats.

We're taking on water!

2009-04-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to my last posting, I did make it out sailing on Sunday. Ryan and I sailed for an hour or two and then I went back a little later that afternoon to take a jib class. I got paired up with a another guy in the class and we were sailing around a set of buoys when we got caught in a gust of wind right as we rounded a turn (lesson learned: check for approaching gusts before initiating turn!).
I had the jib and he had the main-sheet and tiller and into the water we went as the gust hit us during our gibe. I climbed over the hull and stood on the centerboard to keep the boat from rolling all the way over. Luckily this enabled us the get the boat back upright when our instructor arrived in the motor boat. A couple minutes later they had another boat with a water pump out, they sucked up all the water until we were floating nicely again and off we went ... until we were too cold to keep sailing that is. Good thing I usually bring a change of clothes!

Blown Away at Community Boating's First Weekend of the Season

2009-04-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Community Boating opened on April 1st so this was the first weekend of the sailing season! I have been waiting for months and the countdown timer they put on their website at the end of last season seemed like it would never reach zero. Well it finally did so friend Ryan and I headed down today to dust off the cobwebs in our brains and see if we could remember which ropes (lines!) went with what and whether to push the tiller towards or away from the sail and sheet in or out in order to luff up or bear away when sailing on a starboard reach. I think we might have done okay except for one thing--there was too much wind. It's a rare occurrence when sailing on the Charles River but today the wind was steady at over 15 knots gusting to about 25 knots. Alas, despite having several ratings between us we were advised that it would be risky even in a keel boat without a jib. I think they just didn't want to have to come rescue us if we capsized--well I don't blame them and we had no interest in sinking a boat today so opted to live to fight another day.

Yep, that's the red flag flying straight out.
Here's the lone Laser (Olympic men's solo class boat) capsized!
Here he is back upright, it's a small boat in those waves.
You can click on the above pics to make them bigger.

Road Trip!

2009-03-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back from our Spring Break road trip to Pennsylvania and what a great trip it was. We spent time with Liz's family, touring Philadelphia and then driving out to Pennsylvania Dutch country and Gettysburg. Here are some of the highlights.

This is Bryn Mar Presbyterian Church where Liz's aunt (also named Liz) goes.

Here's the Liberty Bell. They've cleverly positioned it so you can see Independence Hall, where it used to live, right behind it.

A smashing self portrait.

Declaration of Independence and Constitution born here, wow.

This beautiful glass mosaic is in the lobby of the Curtis Building, where Ladies Home Journal was published.
Gettysburg.

This is the view from Little Round Top where Union soldiers held off multiple attacks from the Confederate army until finally, running out of ammunition, they led a downhill bayonet charge towards what is known as Devil's Den to defend the hill. Off to the right is the plain where Pickett's Charge came. Cannon's were fired from Little Round Top to help deter that attack. Today there is a monument on the plain noting the "high-water" mark where the Confederate soldiers were stopped.

This is the oldest house in Gettysburg where there's a restaurant and basement tavern where we had nice meal after working up an appetite on the battlefields.
Here we are with Liz's Uncle Fred and Aunt Diana.

Liz and Aunt Liz, whom we stayed with in Newton Square, PA.

Tuna Takashimi

2009-03-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

We're back from vacation (more to come on this) and last night we enjoyed a delicious homemade dinner with friends. This is probably one of the more difficult single dishes we've made and it's so pretty I just had to put up a picture.
The dish is a McCormick & Schmick's recipe and consists of pan-seared Ahi tuna with jerk seasoning on top of Asian slaw, on top of a fried wonton wrapper, on top of a bed of wasabi mashed potatoes (sounds weird but they're really good). The sauces on the plate are a chive oil and a soy reduction sauce and then there's a wasabi beurre blanc on top of the fish.

Spring Vacation

2009-03-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been incommunicado for a few days but we've been busy entertaining house guests. Liz's cousin Sandy and her husband Rob came from Phoenix (where it's been in the 80's and sunny) to visit us here Boston (where it is COLD and sometimes rainy--luckily there was no snow while they were here). We had a wonderful visit. It's always fun to have visitors because it gets you out of the house to do the touristy things you forget about that are so abundant in a city like this. We enjoyed great meals at Giacomo's in the North End and at Border Cafe in Harvard Square. Sandy and Rob walked most of the Freedom Trail one day and then Liz drove them over to the USS Constitution (pictured) later in the week as it's only open Thurs-Sun this time of year. We were sad to see them go and hope to be able to visit them in Phoenix some time soon.

Today, we start a vacation of our own, as Liz's Spring Break has just begun. We are heading down to Philadelphia, PA to visit some of her family and be tourists ourselves. We haven't really decided what else we'll try to see during our trip (perhaps New York, Baltimore or even DC). So, look for pictures here later this week.

Fresh Pond

2009-03-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

It's hard bathing an 85 lb. dog with as much fur as Roxy, but when she decided to roll around in a dead animal she found while playing at Fresh Pond the other day we had to do it (and by we, I mean Liz as I wasn't home when this happened--thank goodness). Anyway, here are some pictures now that she's clean and fluffy.

Haveli

2009-03-14T05:40:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of Indian restaurants in Cambridge. I think we've tried most of them and they're all really good but I think we might have a new favorite. Sorry Punjabi Dhaba but we've got a new go-to spot for Indian food.

Just a couple blocks down in Inman Square from Punjabi Dhaba, the famous "Indian Highway-Side Cafe", is Haveli (owned by the same restaurant group). The food at Haveli is every bit as good as Punjabi Dhaba, if not better (and that's really saying something), but the atmosphere is a hundred times better (no exageration), you don't have to eat off a metal cafeteria tray (we always get take out due to this and the limited seating), there's free parking in back and they take credit cards. Punjabi only accepts cash and the only ATM near there is Bank of America which now charges $3 if you don't have your account with them so I refuse to use it.

We ordered take-out from Haveli the other day and it was ready in 10 minutes and cost less than most of the other places in our area. It was so good we decided to go back with some friends for dinner last night. We made a reservation but didn't really need to, even on a Friday night. We had a fabulous dinner made up of chicken tikka masala, chicken vindaloo, aloo mattar (peas and potatoes), palak paneer (spinach and cheese), naan and poori. If you've never had poori you should really try it. It' sort of a giant puffed up bread that I recently learned is made by floating it on a pot of hot oil and the cook continuously splashes more oil on the top of it while it puffs up to the size of a football.

All of our dishes were amazing. They have a cheap wine list from which I ordered a glass of pinot noir but it was only mediocre. That was really my only complaint. We have some family coming in to town for a visit this week so that might be a good excuse to go back again--hey, Indian people eat it every day right?

Here are the other Indian restaurants we've tried and liked in Cambridge:

-Cafe of India, Harvard Square, a little more expensive but great atmosphere
-India Castle, right by our house, has a great lunch buffet 7 days a week for $7.95
-India Pavilion, Central Square, great combination of taste, service, price, decor.

Inn By the Sea

2009-03-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

We recently took a trip, in celebration of our 4th anniversary, to Inn By The Sea at Cape Elizabeth, in Maine. It was a great weekend getaway at a fabulous hotel (that not just accepts, but welcomes, dogs!). Here are a few pictures.
You can see more pictures of the hotel at their website www.innbythesea.com.

Cheap Eats

2009-03-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

A delicious and inexpensive meal from Thai Kitchen.

I wasn't sure what to expect at first about this little hole in the wall restaurant on Mass Ave near Davis Square and I was a little skeptical when I saw the menu listing both Thai and Chinese dishes, but on the recommendation from some friends we went ahead and gave the place a chance and I'm really glad we did.

I often try Pad Thai when I first go to a Thai restaurant as it's a good dish to compare against other restaurants (can you taste the cilantro and lime? Did they sprinkle on just right amount of crushed peanuts?). But this time I switched it up a little and even though I went with the intention of getting Thai food the urge struck me to order some General Gau's chicken. Liz ordered massaman curry, also one of my favorite Thai dishes, so I got to try both a Chinese and a Thai dish.

All of their lunch specials start with a small bowl of hot & sour soup and then come with crab rangoon and a heaping mound of steamed rice. They even include a small scoop of strawberry ice cream for dessert. And all for less than seven dollars! We both enjoyed our meals as they were cooked well, presented beautifully and tasted good.

The service was very quick and friendly. The decor was so-so with yellow walls, sparse artwork and a view into the cluttered, tiny kitchen. This was no fine dining experience but if you're looking for a tremdous value then this is is your place.

Living in the now

2009-03-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just need to kick back and relax. This dog isn't Roxy (I took this picture in Belize) but he's got the right idea.

You and your 401(k) are the problem (and the solution)

2009-03-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

I received an email today regarding the article found here. It's about the problems with capitalism and democracy. Here is the response I wrote to the person who sent me the article (edited for the general public):

I agree with a number of things in this article such as capitalism creating its own opportunities for fraud (Bernard Madoff and Ken Lay at Enron) and greed (bailout money for executive bonuses) and that a free market economy without limits and without sufficient regulation leads to problems such as these and others mentioned by Parenti. However, there are a number of points in which I don't share his logic.

The two wealthiest individuals in our country are Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Bill Gates made his fortune providing products to individual consumers and businesses alike while Buffett made his buying existing, but simple, businesses that he could easily understand (and nearly always keeps existing management and employees in place). Now that they've made these enormous amounts of money and possibly run out of things to invest in (as the author suggests is happening to the super rich) they have created The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation--a $40 billion organization dedicated to the idea that "all lives have equal value" and therefore endeavoring in charitable causes, research and investment projects that help humanity in all of its forms. If we didn't have a society, a market system and a form of government that inspired (some) people to reach for these levels of wealth there would be a fraction of the foundations (or they would exist as small non-profits instead) working to solve the issues we face around the world today. Foundations like these are not built on $25 and $100 donations from "regular" people. And while it's a little less directly related, I don't think we'd have as motivated a work force without the opportunity of living the American Dream. Seeing people who've "made it" is the only proof we have that it's possible.

I think it's easy for people to blame big business for our problems but it's also easy to forget about the ways in which they improve our lives (aside from the fact that they can sell goods cheaper and produce some goods that individuals or small businesses simply can't produce on their own--e.g. cars and airplanes). My wife is a student at Harvard University where they have a $30 billion endowment that provides for scholarships, and some of the highest level of academics in the world. I doubt that endowment was created without a lot of donations from individuals with inordinate amounts of wealth. During the course of her studies she has received funding for research from the Fund for Theological Education. FTE is funded by the Lilly Foundation which was funded by, yes, Eli Lilly & Co., the pharmaceutical company.

I have mixed feelings on the idea of laissez-faire. I suppose a good example for it is that if an individual consumer wants to reduce their expenses, they buy a fuel efficient car, which of course is good for the environment. Or, if they really want to save money, they take the bus. Unfortunately, as pointed out in this article positive results don't always come about from everyone looking out for themselves.

So, when someone like Parenti takes a couple of examples of failures from the corporate world and declares that our whole economic and/or governmental system is failing us I take it with a grain of salt. He's right the system isn't perfect and it needs some oversight, some transparency, some accountability but I don't think there's a better system out there. I'm not sure he does either, and maybe he's just saying we need to modify our existing system to address these issues, in which case I somewhat agree. But I think there is a more fundamental problem and neither business nor government can be blamed. I think the problem is our fault. I think that anyone who invests in the stock market, in their 401(k), in their
403(b), in any type of IRA and purchases mutual funds or stocks they are causing the problem. The number one reason someone buys stocks or funds is for the growth or dividends of the underlying companies. When investors (whether institutional or individual) buy stock based on quarterly earnings they are demanding that companies increase operating leverage quarter after quarter. It is simply unsustainable to continue to reduce costs (e.g. wages) and increase revenues (e.g. prices) on a continual basis, yet if businesses don't do this investors sell their stock looking for a "better" company and then the board of directors starts firing people and they hire new people who can "better serve the shareholders".

I think the answer is that we have to take socially responsible investing to a new level. It's not enough to simply steer clear of companies that sell cigarettes or drill in fragile ecosystems for oil. We have to invest in and support companies that aren't afraid to say they pay wages that are higher than the market rate because they value their employees, that their costs are higher because they use recycled materials and that they don't promise to increase earnings per share every single quarter because they are looking for long term sustainability and growth. I'm not sure yet how we as investors can collectively address all these points. So, for now we just have to support companies that we respect, and who incorporate some of these ideals into their business practices by buying their products and investing in their stock. But, it's hard to turn away from better investment returns when it's your retirement savings on the line.
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Massachusetts gas tax and vehicle mileage charge

2009-02-28T07:58:00.000-08:00

Maybe I shouldn't start out with such a politically charged issue but this relates to both Oregon and Massachusetts residents and our current economic turmoil so may be of interest. Massachusetts has been debating for some time whether to increase tolls (significantly) for the tunnels from East Boston and a few other places and/or to increase the gas tax by 19 cents a gallon.

First, I'd like to say that making the people in East Boston responsible for an enormously disproportionate amount of the burden is simply unjust. I'm sure those tunnels didn't cost anywhere near what the Big Dig cost so why should it cost so much to drive through them? And, we certainly don't want to encourage people to drive the long way around, which would add to traffic congestion and pollution.

The real issue I have though is that 1 cent of the 19 cent gas tax (which doesn't sound like much but is over 5% of the total taxes that will be collected) is going to STUDY the concept of instituting a system to track vehicle miles driven so that another tax can be added based on how many miles you drive your car. This is insane. If you drive more than your neighbor you already pay more for gas and therefore are paying more gas taxes. The system would work by embedding chips in registration stickers on cars that would transmit a signal to various stations along roads, highways, whatever. Why would we spend money building the infrastructure to do this when we have an existing way of collecting revenue from people that is proportionate to the amount of miles they travel. This is technology for the sake of technology.

The only variable between vehicle miles traveled and a straight gasoline tax is from how good your gas mileage is on your car but by charging the gas tax we are already encouraging people to drive more fuel efficient cars. This program will cost a lot of money to collect funds that can already be collected in a much more efficient manner.

My question here for the Oregonians is that part of the argument for implementing the vehicle miles traveled tax is that this is already being done successfully in Oregon--I have never heard of this but maybe this has been done since I've moved away. Is it done in Oregon and if so, what are your thoughts on it?

In the beginning ...

2009-02-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

As if there aren't enough of these on the internet, this is a blog about my life, my views, what I'm doing living here in Cambridge, Massachusetts and anything else I may feel inspired to write about.

If you have not met her, Roxy is my Dog. She is a Bernese Mountain Dog. She is NOT a Burmese Mountain Dog. She has a ridiculous amount of fur so if she came from Burma, where the high temperature this month was 99 degrees, she would probably die of heat stroke. Fortunately, her breed comes from the mountains near Bern, Switzerland where it is considerably cooler. I wonder why so many people think it's Burmese rather than Bernese--are more people familiar with Burma than they are with Switzerland? She is unique for her breed in that she has one brown eye and one blue eye. If you ever meet us on the street you do not have to tell me this, as many people do, I already know. She loves wading in ponds or the ocean but I don't think she can actually swim.

I'm sure I'll mention Roxy from time to time, and post some pictures 'cause she's really cute but, despite the name, she's not the sole focus here. I plan to use this page to update friends and family on what my wife Liz an I are up to (as many of you live 3,000 miles away on the West Coast where I grew up) and I'll also write my opinions about whatever I have opinions on. Hopefully I'll also be able to share some tasty recipes, post some great photos and spark some discussion on the state of things in the world today.