Keeping secrets

This afternoon I deleted the following from an email message I couldn't send.

“In the immortal words of sergeant Schultz, “I know nothing, nothing!”

But I know more, than I know, on this effort.  Both parties have asked for my ideas on how to get to the same goal.”

I am talking  with two parties who won’t talk to one another. They are both asking me for ideas, and they are slowly realizing that they both really want the same thing.  Government is truly amazing from this close up.  I just have to make sure I don’t get too close, or the wax on my wings might melt.

Travel Penguin Loves a Travel Bargain

The name says it all, Travel Penguin, Travel likes to travel, unfortunately Travel does not have unlimited funds to travel. Travel like a travel bargain.  So how do we find them?

The major elements of most trips are airfare, hotel and frequently a rental car.

On airfare, timing is critical starting with when the trip will take place.  The more people who want to fly, the higher the price is likely to be. Flying at times of the day that people prefer to fly, will cost more than trips at inconvenient times.  A flight leaving at 6:00 AM may sell for $100 less than a flight leaving at 8:00 AM.  When you buy can also make a difference,  I start shopping early, most airlines will allow you to book 11 to 12 months ahead of time.  You won’t necessarily find the lowest price on the earliest booking date, but I would start checking to get a baseline.  Check every few days, 2-3 times a week.  When you see a price you like, book it and don’t look back.  WIth airfare, last minute is generally the most expensive.  Last spring I made a last minute trip to Florida for a family emergency, booking on Friday evening and leaving on Sunday morning.  I paid nearly twice the price I do for the same trip when I book ahead.  WIth airlines you also need to look at total cost.  Most airlines charge for checked bags, I get free checked bags on one airline as a benefit of a premium rewards credit card.  Flying that airline saves me $50 round trip on checked bag fees, so I can pay a little more and end up with the same net or a lower net cost.  

My starting point for hotels is if there is a group rate available. A lot of my travel is work related and I always look at the conference rate, but I don’t stop there.  I then do a search on an online travel agency and on the hotel’s corporate vendor site. Sometimes you can get the same hotel, a nicer hotel literally across the street for less.  If you don’t look you won’t know. But frequently the conference rate is the best deal. I have visited friends, attending a conference and asked for the conference rate (with full disclosure that I visited someone who was attending the conference) and had hotels give me the conference rate.  

If I am not going to a conference, I start with online travel agency sites.  Then I cross check to the individual hotel’s website.  I am a member of about every frequent traveler plan on the face of the earth. For hotels, you want to search, then log in as a member and search again.  If I am not sure on a price, I will book it if it can be cancelled without penalty, and keep checking.  (Watch for cancellation fees, just because the online travel agency does not charge a fee, does not mean the hotel won’t, read the policies before you click book. Most hotels ask for a credit card to guarantee a reservation, if you cancel, they may charge a fee, if you no show, they may charge you for the room that is now sitting empty for the night.  Always read the details.

The car rental market is wild.  There are fewer players in the market than there use to be and some who look like competitors, are actually the same company (Thrifty/Dollar for example.)  I subscribe to the email deals from half a dozen rental car companies.  As soon as I book airline tickets, I look for a rental car deal.  I look both online travel agency sites and the individual rental car company sites. Early on I book the best value - as long as it is cancel-able. But I keep looking.  On a recent trip I had three rental car reservations the Friday before, narrowed it down to what I wanted and cancelled the other two.  Keep looking down to the last minute, if cars are in short supply prices will go up, if cars are plentiful price can drop down to the day before. I am headed to Florida for a wedding soon.  When I first booked airline tickets the best price I could find on a car was $240 (for 3 days.)  This morning I booked a car from the same people for $78 total for the same three days.  With cars remember that the taxes and fees are going to add significantly to the total cost.  Before you leave home, decide how you are going to answer the inevitable rental car insurance questions.  I carry special coverage through an outside insurance provider that covers rental cars.  Check with your individual car insurance provider, and talk to your credit card companies  The coverage that I have is an extra through American Express, I pay a flat fee per rental, for $40,000 in no-deductible primary coverage.  Also check with your employer to see if they are reimbursing the rental, do they indemnify the CDL? A few years ago I was traveling in Montana as a contractor for a major national membership organization and a rock hit the windshield.  I called the company, they called the rental car company, I filled out a few forms and the company settled with the rental car company.  Easy and efficient.  

Questioning My Sanity

Every January and February, I question my sanity.  I am not a great fan of cold snowy winters.  I was born in Michigan I endured a few blizzards in my days.  When I was in school my parents started spending winters in Florida.  I discovered that there is life without layers, without hats and gloves and freezing your bits and pieces.  After high school I moved to Florida and I lived there for almost 20 years.  My idea of a cold winter night was around freezing.  Snow was something I saw on television and only felt once in 18 years. Over the years I grew to appreciate the subtlety of of a semi tropical winter. In the fall the trees and leaves change the shade of green, foliage grows more slowly and in dead of winter, things may even show frost damage. Then love and a desire for change talked me into moving back north.  The last time I saw the statistics, about ⅓ of the people that move to Florida move out.  My sweet bear and I moved from central Florida to Kentucky and I went onto graduate school.  I experienced my first driving in snow and nasty cold winter weather.  After 13 years I moved to Washington DC.  The winters are a little milder here, but still cold with snow (the week after I moved into the high rise condo, we had 48 inches of snow in a week.)  Every winter, I question the sanity of moving this far north.  I love DC, I am constantly in awe of the museums, the power and politics of being here.  I love being in a real city, with a good mass transit system, But every winter I question the sanity of a cold winter day being 4 or 5 degrees instead of 45 degrees.  

Why

So I went from the top picture to the bottom picture this week, WHY? 

The Journey and the Destination

Some say travel is about the journey not the destination. My experience is that it is about both.  

It is easy to focus on getting where you are going and overlook the joy of the journey.  Planes, trains, automobiles, moving across the landscape can be an incredible experience. I am always amazed at the sounds, sights and smells along the way.  I enjoy airports, watching people coming and going I am always surprised or amazed at the things I see.  I enjoy the mechanics of airports. Airplanes are remarkably complex and reliable.  I enjoy watching them come and go at an airport.  I enjoy the physical act of flying, the views out the window and the view up the aisle - especially at takeoff and landing. I wish that airplanes were more comfortable. I started flying when seats were larger and service included meals on any flight longer than a couple of hours.  I miss the bag of peanuts.  Train stations carry an interesting mix of people, rich, poor, young and old, and a nice mixture of foreign tourists.  I love the views from trains. The rails run through the backyards of America.  Driving gives us the greatest connection to the terrain,  I like to get off the expressways and onto the back roads and see what the locals see everyday.  

I also enjoy the destination.  Even the most mundane of places has something uniquely local about it.  Food, language, architecture, there is such an amazing spectrum to be experienced.  Occasionally I get to go to a “destination.”  I enjoy the great world capitals, historical sites, and tourist traps.  

In all cases I need to remember to see, hear and smell all that travel has to offer.  

Having Fun

Growing older happens, growing up is optional.  There is a Jimmy Buffet line about growing older but not up. All too many of us forget how to have fun, as we get older.  We need to remember that it is okay to be silly, zany even a little crazy.  Remember to laugh a little each day. 

A Couple of Days in Alternate Reality Land

Many people think their parents are crazy, my mother is steadily slipping into alternate reality land.  All of the time she talks about going up stairs, my parents have lived in single story “ranch style” homes for well over 60 years.  Yesterday she asked my sister to go up into the attic over the upstairs bedroom and help that man out of the long sleeve satin dress. We had been talking about wedding dresses (my sister is getting married again) but we have no idea who the man is and why he is in the attic over the imaginary second floor in her 65 year old satin dress. Yesterday evening she looked at me and said, “I am sure there are shovels in the garage, you can plant anyplace along the front.”  When my father asked what in the world she wanted me to plant, the answer was roses - I could plant as many as I wanted.  I assured her that I had planted all of the roses and they were doing fine.  I had planted roses across the front of their house, about 25 years ago.  At midnight last night she was blowing her distress whistle and then arguing with my father that she wanted to get up (she can’t get in and out of bed without help.)  She was refusing to turn the television in their bedroom off, every time my father drifted off to sleep she would turn the volume up until he woke up.  He would turn the television off, she would turn it on and turn the volume up and hide the remote.  At one time I wondered where I learned passive aggressive behavior.

My parents are 86.  It has been a rough year. Mom was in and out of the hospital and a nursing home.  My sister and her soon to be husband (he knows what he is getting himself into,) moved in with my parents to provide in-home care for mom.  Mom has Parkinson's, is unable to walk, stand or transfer from chair to chair, or bed to chair without full help.  Her memory has been fading and her personal reality has settled in quite soundly over the past year.  I am not sure what special land she lives in, but she is comfortable and happy most of the time.  How the rest of them in this house remain sane living in her alternate reality, I don't know.

Taking Control of My Life

It happened by accident, I forgot to set my radio alarm clock one night.  I woke with a start the next morning, realizing that the music was not playing and the sun was rising.  After a moment of panic, I realized that I had slept an extra 15-20 minutes and felt so relaxed.  I had not been roused from my slumber, my dreams had not been interrupted.  I made it to the office more or less on time.  I thought about the experience over the following few days.  The clock had ruled my life since I was a teenager.  I was raised in a house where if you were not 15 minutes early, you were late. It has taken me decades to understand that not all of the world works on the principle, in fact not all of my family lives on that basis.  I took control, I turned the clock radio off.  Much to my surprise, life and work went on.  I wake most mornings, plenty early, occasionally my body takes control and I sleep a little later.  I am still fairly calendar driven, and my body seems to adjust so I am on time for calendar items, especially when they impact others.  It has been five years and I am so happy with the decision to take control and not let the clock rule my life.  On rare occasion when I have an especially early meeting or airline flight, I will set the clock, but even then, I usually find that I am awake before the music starts playing, awake without being awoken.  

Great Adventures in Travel

An Exercise  in Flexibility 

The fog stuck around, the flight was delayed, first for 12 minutes, then 30 minutes, than an hour, then 2 hours, then cancelled.  I was re-booked on another flight and had a row to myself in the back of the bus.  I arrived at my destination over two hours late, but I arrived.  The rental car people were incompetent, chatty and polite, kept asking me the same questions and trying to sell their overpriced insurance.  Then they didn't have the class of car I had reserved, I said I would take something else, we started to make the change - the phone rang and they had what I had reserved.  Picking up the car took twice as long as it should have, I am now about two and half hours late. I drove to the Crown Plaza, park and went to registration.  They don't have a room ready, I say I will take anything, one bed - two beds I am very flexible.  She asked if "I was paying for the room" - uh yes.  She then asked if I was driving - if she had been listening I had said I had a car in the garage.  She explained that there was an option that would get me into a room immediately, the hotel was oversold, and they had just made arrangements with the Hyatt Regency across the river for the overflow.  She would comp my room, if I would be able to stay at the Hyatt instead of the CP.  Ah, yes, the Hyatt is much nicer.  So I spent the night on the 16th floor with a spectacular river view.  I was four hours late getting to the conference, but I am listening not talking at this one, so I could be quite flexible.  All in all it was not a bad trip when compared to the emergency landing in Dallas with smoke pouring out of an engine, or the time the plane backed into another plane (twice) in Charlotte one morning. Any landing you can walk away from, is a good landing.  It is all a matter of perspective and flexibility. 

Out early in the fog

I was off to the airport before dawn today.  Very foggy on top of the hill. 

I love TSA pre - check.  One of the airlines enrolled me.  Not sure which one, but THANK YOU.  I can leave my shoes on, wear a light jacket,  leave my computer in my bag. At most airports I pass through a metal detector, hence I need to empty my pockets into my bag.  It is so much easier.  Most of the part the participants are frequent flyers, who know what to do.  So much better. 

Now the flight is delayed two hours. 

Oh well,  control the things we can. 

How Cold Was It?

It was so cold that I took the condo shuttle bus to and from the subway station and went to the deli in the building for lunch, rather than going around the corner to my favorites.  There is a thin layer of ice on the Potomac River, bunching up around the bridge piers where the subway crosses the river.  The trains have been having trouble with frozen switches for a couple of days.  But the worst is past.  It was above freezing this afternoon and will be 10 degrees warmer tomorrow and back into the high 50's (Fahrenheit) over the weekend.

DC has it's share of cold jokes,
It was so cold that Congressmen had their hands in their own pockets.
It was so cold that government bureaucrats stopped moving - but no one noticed the difference.
It was so cold that we had to print more money to burn (about half of the currency used in the US is printed in DC.)
 
Home on the hill?
I live in a condo in the high rise towers on the top of that hill. If my neighbors would cut down all of the trees I would have a great view of Old Town Alexandria, the Patent and Trademark offices and the George Washington Masonic Memorial.  About 1/3 of the time I ride a bike to and from the office.  Every afternoon, I HATE the hill I live on, when I have to climb it on the bike.  The rise is about 100 feet in about 500 feet.  Nasty-nasty climb.  I will conquer that hill.

Fresh Look

It was time for a new look.  I was trying to edit my profile, and the template was so out of date that blogger wouldn't let me edit.  It was time to update.  I try to keep the template simple.  My focus is on the pictures and my ramblings.  I picked the original template quickly and easily and this one the same way.  So I hope both of my readers enjoy the new look, if not, let me know and I will fiddle with it.

It was very-very cold here this morning, 4 degrees Fahrenheit with a nice wind.

I will explain the house on the hill sometime soon.  I put the picture up from my phone on the train headed into the city and didn't get a chance to explain.  

Home on the hill

I Use To Work With

I don't talk about my work on Social Media (outside of the office) but I can talk about past work.  I am on my third career.  The first one only lasted a few short years, I was a commercial photographer for 2-3 years.  I did mostly print work for the hospitality industry.   

For my second career I worked with the distant relatives of the creatures above.  I worked for land developers and home builders in Florida for 15 years.  It was an interesting business.  The first 7 years I worked for a small family owned company that developed land and built 150-200 homes per year.  Interesting people, they knew how to control risk and make money.  One day they invited us all to a hotel for a drink on the way home from work, and proceeded to announce that they had sold the assets - I found out a few weeks later that I was not one of the assets and that I had better find another job.  I did, landing a sales and marketing job for a major national home builder  aka Big-Builder Company. I was there five years and made really good money.  When they hired me, the boss said I will screw with your mind but not with your money, you will make more money here than anyplace in town.  He was right, and so began my adventures with various swamp creatures.  

Big-builder company was big money land.  At any given time we had 50-100 million dollars of work underway, in the division I was in.  Nationally it was a multi-billion dollar firm.  We had some interesting characters.  One of the division managers was young and ambitious and willing to do or say almost anything to exceed his numbers.  I was in a meeting with him one afternoon, when we left he said I'll see you at the morning staff meeting, I went back to my mail slot and there was a memo saying that he had left the firm to pursue other opportunities.  Apparently he hadn't received the memo yet - but he was gone before I left the building that afternoon.  The last I heard he was building prisons - some were surprised he wasn't a resident in one.  When I left there I went to work for idiots with lots of money.  I referred to them as an accounting company that built houses to keep the accountants busy.  Reality was suspended and what ever the accounting system said, was held to be the truth, even if it was obviously wrong to everyone looking at reality.  I learned the art of creating paperwork to reconcile accounting with reality.  I was there about a year and left.  About the time left they hired one of my former bosses from Big-builder company.  I was gone about 120 days, including 90 days working for a supplier and I went back to work for more money than brains.  The guy who founded the company did a motivational speech for staff where he said that he could "write a check for a billion dollars and it would clear," and we all snickered that it would only count if accounting could find the paperwork.  I lasted another year or so, had a shouting match with a moron construction manager and went on my way.  The next company was idiots without enough money - one payday they quit paying.  I had been warned when I went to work there, that one day, one way or another the company would hurt me.  From there I went back to work for the company that had bought out the first company I worked for - closing the circle.  Nothing was the same.  The place was run by a drunk Australian and his YES MEN with no business morals - it was all about margins - they would sooner make no money than not hit there target margin.  That was my last builder job.  I followed love to another state, and took the opportunity to hit the restart button on my work life.  I went to graduate school, and found work that I wanted to do, mostly working for and with people that I want to work with and for and that is about all I will say about my current work.  

A post script in about 2010 Big-Builder ran tight on cash, and the banks really wanted cash, and more money than brains made good on his brag, and wrote a check merging the best company I ever worked for with the stupidest.  

Good morning

15 degrees Fahrenheit and very slippery this morning.  Headed to the office.  The condo has private road through an undeveloped parcel to the subway station about half a mile away.  This walk is part of my daily commute in the city.  There were fresh fox footprints in the snow this morning. 

A little wet snow in the DC area this evening. 

Back to the office

Today was the first day of the work year, the first day of the rest of my life.  I was in the office, getting things done.  I caught up on email that had stacked up over the holidays.  I was able to follow up with people who had taken the last 10 days off.  I try to work over the holidays, it is a good time to catch up on things that no one else needs to touch, but not a good time to try to do anything that I need to confer with anyone else on. I am producing workshops for a conference in January, and it was not a good couple of weeks to try to get people to agree on a workshop title.  

I enjoy work.  I get bored after a couple of days around the house.  I enjoy vacation and traveling, but being home gets to me in a hurry.  I prefer to be working.  This is a major consideration as I get closer to "retirement" age, I can't see myself in my parents vision of retirement.  They retired early and have been bored for most of the past 30 years.  Not my idea of fun.

Take care, stay busy and have fun!

2014

So what does 2014 hold?  

Some travel, though likely not as much as some past years.  I have a conference in Jacksonville, FL in January, followed by a couple of days with my aging parents in central Florida.  My sister is talking about getting married in early February in Florida. So I may be home for a week and go back to Florida again.  In February I will likely drive to Lexington, KY for a long weekend (assuming there is not a snow storm between here and there.) If I can get an invitation, I may attend the bloggerpalozza in Delaware in March.  I have a conference in early May in Portland, OR.  Oregon is one of 5 states I have not been to.  I may go a a conference in Scottsdale later in May.  We are planning a long weekend in Chicago for Memorial Day weekend.  I will need to make another trip or two to Florida over the course of the year.  

My parents are 86 years old, and in failing health.  I am thinking about a trip to see them in late summer and maybe late October.  I would like to go to Lexington for Thanksgiving with Jay this year. I have to be prepared for unplanned trips to Florida if an emergency comes up. 

We don't have plans for a major vacation the year, though we are due for one. Last year's discretionary budget was consumed with a new heating and air-conditioning system for the condo. Other than a few hundred dollars in plumbing replacements- there are no major home improvement projects this year. 

I don't talk about my work on social media.  This spring the project I am on is up for renewal for a new three year cycle.  It appears likely that the project will be funded.  But rising costs and reduced funding are making it hard to balance the budget (hence less work travel this year than in the past.)  It will be nice to have a three year commitment to the future of the project, even if I have to sell part of my time to another project to balance the budget. Last year the office moved, this year may see some changes in organization and leadership (my bosses -boss is moving to a new job in mid January.)  
J, also known as my other half, Someone, partner, or sweet-bear, is still teaching in Lexington, KY.  He is here about 20 weeks out of the year, I am there a couple of weeks per year.  At this point we don't see this changing any time soon. We are plotting a sabbatical in a couple of years, and his early retirement in a few years.  People ask about marriage, both homes are in anti-marriage states, at this point marriage would overly complicate our legal lives. I have thought about moving across the river to Maryland if Virginia does not get it's act together soon.  We have been together 21 years, it would be hard to be more committed to each other, but the legal protections of recognition of our relationship are real and something we should be able to take advantage of sooner or later.  

New year's resolutions? 

• be more aware of what I eat
• ride the bike more, move more
• read more (turn off the TV) 
• write for 30 minutes per day

Life Along the Potomac River

Life Along the Potomac River

I have been in the Washington DC area for five years.  Prior to this I lived in Kentucky for a decade, far to far away from the water.  I was only here a few days when I stepped outside one morning and I could smell the water, the joys of living within half-a-mile of a major waterway.  It reminded me of Florida, where I lived near the water for a couple of decades (I am getting old.)

Potomac is an anglicized version of a native American name Patawomeck.  Where the river passes the City, it is over a quarter-mile wide - broadening out as it moves south to about a mile in Alexandria where I live. The river is shallow, with a boat channel in the middle. The river moderates the climate along it’s shores.  In a typical winter the river will get a glaze of ice for a few days in the deepest of the cold.  Potomac is just one of the strange river names in Virginia, the Occoquan River is only about 10 miles south of here.

I love being near the water, I like the smell of the water, the humidity and the moderating effect on the area along the river.  About ⅓ of the time I ride my bike to and from the office, about 11.5 miles each way.  Over 6 miles of that is on the Mt. Vernon Trail that runs along the river.  

Nice Afternoon along the Potomac

The new probe cooking thermometer went bad and tried to tell me it was 183 degrees at room temperature.  I know I can be hot in the kitchen, but not that hot.  we went down to Old Town Alexandria to exchange it.  Sur La Table was very nice and efficient. No fog on the Potomac today. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Washington DC

Fog on the Potomac

Strange weather here today.  It was 73 degrees this morning, then rain moved in.  The temperature dropped about 10 degrees,  with lite fog on the river this afternoon. 

From Erik at http://erikrubright.com/blog/

CALL ME

 

1. Do you still have a land line?

 Yup, it comes as part of the cable package.  I live in a high-rise building, and need a landline to remotely open the front door to the building.   

 2. Which cell phone do you use and why?

Samsung Galaxy S4. I narrowed the selection down to this and an HTC One, the Samsung had a brighter screen, and changeable battery.

 3. Which provider do you use? Is there really a difference?

 This fall I moved from T-Mobile to Verizon and there is a real difference.  The network coverage and signal strength are much-much better. 

4. If you call someone and they don’t pick up, do you leave a message?

 If I want to talk to them, and if they usually listen to their messages. 

 

5. When you have a missed call (with no message), do you call the person back?

 Rarely, if it is my sweet-bear or my father yes.

6. Do you text willingly or reluctantly? How are your skills?

I have taken up texting in the past couple of years.  I still don’t do a lot of texting, but I do it willingly.  Skills?  I use too many words, and full words.  I have learned to use voice to text.

7. Has your cell replaced your camera?

 I am about 50% along in my phone replacing my camera.  I still like a good wide angle and moderate telephoto lens, and I have yet to see a phone with really good lens options.  Electronic zoom, is not the same as good glass.

8. Selfies….

 Yes, I travel alone a lot.

 9. How many apps do you have? Which is your favorite and why?

Less than 10, Starbucks, bike-share locators, a couple of work related ones. 

10. What would life be like with no cell/smart phone for one month?

It would take me two or three days to get over email withdrawal, with periodic email panics.  I have gone three or four days without email service a few times since my first “smart-phone” and it is a struggle.  I can live without the phone, email runs my life.

BONUS

 

How much has your cell phone become a part of your sex life? Sexting, hookup apps, selfies, video, GPS, more?

 Not at all.

Post 500

John Gray at Going Gently http://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/ has posted 10 questions. Here is my take.

1. If there's one chocolate left in the box, do you have to eat it, or can you leave it sitting there?

I have little self control, especially with chocolate.

2. What do you want to remember most of all, if you survive to be very old?  That happiness is inside us, not something from outside.  

3. Would you enjoy being a very rich and famous celebrity?

Being rich would be nice, but I am not interested in being famous.  I enjoy being anonymous.

4. What piece of music do you personally find most emotionally moving?

Difficult  to choose one. “Over the rainbow.”

5.  How do you deal with depression, anxiety and bad times?

By reminding myself that 90% of what we worry about either already has happened or never will happen, by practicing active forgiveness.

6. What do you love doing that bores everyone else stiff?

Keeping records and writing reports.  

7. Did you ever encounter an inanimate object that seemed to have a will of its own?

Certain inanimate penguins and sheep are real and do what they want.

8. What is your very favourite hotel or restaurant?

Antico Forno in Florence is the one restaurant that stands out. Probably the best hotel of the past 10 years was the Hilton Tower Bridge in London (out of over 250 hotel nights in the past 10 years.)

9. Do you think prisoners who have committed particularly vile crimes should be segregated in jail for their own safety?

For their safety, or the safety of others?  I have a poor opinion of prisons, they do little to rehabilitate or prepare inmates for living in society.  I truly think the money could be better spent.

10. What do you wish you had known when you were 18?

How important it is to be true to my own self.  

The first snow of the season

A nice gentle snow is falling, the first of the season.  A nice way to spend a quiet Sunday at home.  I have beans baking in the oven giving off a heavenly scent.  Relaxing at home. 

Beavers

I was surprised to see evidence of Beavers along the Potomac just south of Alexandria this afternoon. This is in an area known as Duke Marsh. It is a recovering industrial area. Amazing resilience.  The earth will recover after man quits abusing it.

Bucket List

My oldest brother turned 62 this fall and remarked that he needs to write down his bucket list, the list of things he wants to do before he kicks the bucket.  I have not made a list, I have done a lot, experienced many of the wonders of the world.  But there are a few things left on my to do list. Riding in a blimp is one.  I passed the Goodyear blimp someplace north of Jacksonville Florida this morning.  Riding in a hot air balloon and landing a plane on skies on a glacier are also on the list.  The last time I checked K-2 aviation in Alaska offers the glacier landing.  

Happy Thanksgiving

The turkey is in the oven.  If my middle brother who lives 28 miles away makes it over, we will have mom and dad and all four kids together for the second time in 30+ years.  We kind of scattered across the country and have seldom coordinated travel schedules.  I suspect we will not have too many more opportunities.  Mom is slipping fast and dad appears to be running down.  86 years have taken a toll. Spend the day with those most important to you. Happy Thanksgiving DG

Florida coast

We are visiting family near the space center in Florida.  I ran down to Port Canaveral this morning for fresh fish and a glimpse of the Atlantic this morning. 

One of my daily blog reads has passed the million page view mark.  A major accomplishment in blogger land.  The secret fear of all is throwing a party and not having anyone show up, or writing a blog and having no one read.  Congratulations to John at Going Gently http://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/2013/11/fame-at-last.html?showComment=1385468571979#c1787602432750314374 Stop by for a daily glimpse into the life of an animal lover in a small Welsh village.

Spo Meme

Spo, the dear, has created a meme of his own. http://sporeflections.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/the-blogger-meme/

What you like most about being a blogger?

For me it is all about the pictures.  The blog gives me a place to share pictures of travel and everyday life, with a little text to explore what I am thinking.

How many bloggers have you met?

Three, but sadly all of them have moved on from blogging to FB and other media.

Do you ever go back and read your old entries?

Rarely, but once in a great while.

Do you share your job skills here?

No, I try to maintain a separation between my personal life and my professional life. Client confidentiality and an employer who claims ownership of everything related to my work, make this my best option.

Have you changed your views about anything thanks to blogging?

The value of the everyday mundane.

Do your coworkers know about your blog?

Not that I know of.  But I am careful not to say anything I would be embarrassed by if they do find the blogg.  I work in DC, always assume that someone is watching what you are doing.

What advice would you give for successful blogging?

Make posting a habit, something that you just don’t feel right about if you don’t do it.  

What is your opinion of aardvarks?

We need more of them. I am in favor of an aardvark in every bed.

Do you publish everything you write ?

Nearly

If you could make ‘three rules’ for blogging, what would they be?

1# Do it, even if you don’t think you don’t think you have anything to say today.

2# More pictures, fewer words.  

3# Tell us about your life, we are all voyeurs at heart.

Do people help you write your blog?

No,

Who are your blogger super-heroes?

Spo, Ken, Walt, John Gray - my day is not complete without checking in.

Final question (if you dare!) :

Have you slept with any of your fellow bloggers?

Nope

Hotel Options

So a friend asked me to check out a hotel in Savannah the she is thinking about using for a meeting. Great hotel, but all residential around it. No restaurants within easy walking distance.  Such a shame.  Nice place, elegant lobby. 

Fall Color

It has been kind of a bland fall here in the DC area. It really makes the and the brightest stand out. 

Train time

One of the reasons I wanted to live in DC was the metro system. I love commuting by train.  I have 30 minutes of me time to read, blog, or just watch the world go by.  No traffic, less stress. 

You are free to browse across the country

My first airline trip since they decided my Kindle or your Playstation won't make the plane fall out of the sky.  It is nice, being able to read, not having the flight attendant screaming that if you don't turn it off now, she will turn this plane around.  Now if we can address the plague of idiots trying to carry on everything they own and stuff it in the overhead bins.

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

The first Christmas decorations showed up at Target in September, but now that Halloween has passed things are getting serious.  I kind of like it, though by Christmas I will be ready to pack it in. Lately I am hearing a song in my soul. 

Who is Looking at You

Countries look over one another's shoulders, always have, always will.  No one should be surprised by this.  Countries know and do things that would be harmful if others knew about them. Disclose results in the death of people trying to protect their country.  

Saturday morning conference sessions

Election Day

I voted this morning.  An off year election for state offices.  I skipped an election a couple of decades ago, and spent the next four years telling myself,I can't complain I didn't vote for or against the idiot.  Go vote, be entitled to your opinion. 

Clear and cool

Clear and cool this morning,headed into DG's office.  We are going to try to get back to posting regularly. This will mean less travel and more everyday life,observations and gripes.  Likely a running commentary on bicycle commuting.  Good Penguin weather this morning as we head into DC.

Union Market DC

Crab and avacado for lunch

Chicago a couple of months ago.  A very nice little trip.  The construction crane is a good sign, work on that building had been stopped for 2-3 years and it is back on it's was to being finished.